Hey guys, I don't post much here but I figured it's probably the best place to ask. I've had my lancer for just under 2 years now (2003 ES) and I love her, but one small thing after another is starting to **** me off, now my check engine light comes on ???

I'm really, really hoping this is something stupid because I don't have the time or money to waste, plus I've been wanting to sell the car, which I definitely can't do if the damn check engine light is on!

So, anyone else ever have this problem with their Lancer? Mine now has about 54,000km. It's got no A/C, no power anything, it's a 5-speed. I've done regular oil changes, they had a recall done on the rad, i had the discs resurfaced and the pads changed, and that's about it so far.

Could lack of maintenance or beating your car too much cause the check engine light to come on??? As far as I know, I've maintained it OK and not beaten her too badly. Also, not sure if this is relevant but my oil light has came on in the past... I had the dealer look at it, and everything was fine. They replaced the sensor i think..

Anyways, any help, tips, suggestions anything would be extremely helpful and appreciated. If there's anything I can check for myself, that would be great. I have the feeling I'm not going to get out of a trip to the dealer though.

 

disconnect the battery and see if it pops up again. if anything get the reader and see what is the problem. then go from there.

 

Go to Autozone and have them check the code it spits out for free, then you will know for sure what it is.

 

Do Mitsu dealers do that for free? I don't know of any AutoZone around here. Do you know if it's common practice to offer this for free or if most places would charge to read the code for you?

 

I don't think the Mitsu dealer will do it for free, didn't notice you were from Canada. Try calling whatever auto parts stores in your area and see if they can read those codes or not.

 

Sucks cause everything is closed on weekends. I'm guessing I should refrain from driving the car until I can get it checked. The problem is, I have stuff that needs to get done that I can't do without the car, and I need it to get to work all week, and I don't have a penny to pay for repairs/diagnostics until I get paid on Thursday.

Assuming it's something like an O2 sensor, would it be OK to drive over the weekend? And is it normal for the check engine to come on after 54k km in a new car?

 

most car parts shops wont charge anything to do a diagnosis, but the mitsu dealer will charge around $40 american, im not sure what that is canadian, but they'll more than likely spit out the same codes. there shouldnt be a problem with driving it until then, you should be fine. if it an o2 sensor it shouldnt affect your driveability at all. hopefully it is something minor, and not costly, good luck

 

Thanks for all the replies thus far.. so i probably shouldn't worry too too much? CAN it be something really serious? I'm no mechanic, but I couldn't see anything wrong looking under the hood, and the engine itself sounds perfectly normal... i'm a little past-due for my oil change, but that couldn't cause the check engine light, could it ???

 

you wouldnt get a check engine light for oil, you wont get anything unless your oil level is running low then the oil light will come on, but im pretty sure for now you should be fine, mine has been on from putting on new headers, and driveability is not affected at all. as soon as you get a chance though, you should go by a local auto store and see if they can do a diagnosis, shouldnt take more than 3 minutes, and it will more than likely be free.

 

actually, since i just got some cash (various sources) unexpectedly, i will just go to my dealer monday morning, have them do my overdue oil change, check everything, check the light etc...

also... previously, my check oil light came on, and I shat my pants. The dealer ended up replacing a rusted sensor (phew!), but I had filled up the oil and possibly put too much (bad!).. but everythning seems to have been fine since my last oil change..

soooo i am wondering, maybe the "check engine" sensor is rusted out too?? :P Anyway, I will post here with an update when I get it checked/fixed...

 

check your gas cap
if its not clicked all the way in it'll cause a check engine light

 

I have gas'd up twice since, and I have checked, it is definitely closed properly! I will check again though next time I go in the car, just to be quadruple sure
i really hope this is just a stupid rusted sensor

 

well here is my experiences so far with the CEL.

First, my testpipe makes the CEL come one, no big deal i drive it for a bit and it goes off.

Second, a few times my intake filter has rattled off and tripped the CEL. Again no big deal cause i put it back on and drive a bit then it goes off.

Third, my pulley was cutting through one of the wires on my grounding kit, tripped cel. Relocated grounding wire and it was fine.

Fourth, today my light came on b/.c something under my intake was burining(looked like a small fire occured and was put out by itself), ripped out that piece cause it looked like it wasnt a neccessity, and it went off again.

For me it seems to be the mods that cause all of my CELs, if u got any check over those first. Also recently i have been having problems with my upstream O2 sensor, that might again be ur problem.

I just thought i should share this with u to help calm u about CEL coming on and maybe something i said would help u find the problem....Good luck!

 

Thanks again for the input. I took her to the dealer this morning... it took a couple of hours. They told me my exhaust manifold was clogged. I think they meant catalytic converter. At any rate, they ended up replacing the exhaust manifold, catalytic converter, exhaust pipe.

I was kind of surprised... I was expecting a rusted sensor. Is a "clogged exhaust manifold"(or cat converter) the result of abusing the car, or is that something that's normal???

Guess how much it cost in the end? $1100CDN -- thankfully, all I had to actually pay for was my oil change. Is it NORMAL for something like this to happen? Any ideas on what could have caused it, and how I can prevent it from happening again? My dealer didn't say much about it, and I didn't have time to ask questions since I was late for work.

Thanks again for all the help, I at least drove my car without worrying over the weekend

 

i've never of heard of someone actually having a clogged manifold. dont you just love warranty? to answer your question, did you abuse the car? if not, then there is no possible way that is the reason, it could be weather conditions, there's many possiblities, but at least it is ok now. im glad you got that fixed at no cost to you