got a 97 t4r, been having a check engine light come on and off every now and then the past week or so. before i take it to the stealership what should i look at? seems to be running perfectly fine. just got oil changed as well, light is still on. any way to reset it? thanks

chris

 

could be a million things. Best thing to do is get it scanned and find out what codes you have. Dont try to guess. That only costs you time and money

 

some parts stores will pull codes for you for free... write it down and then google is your friend.

 

yeah take it to advance auto or auto zone they will pull the codes for you.. then come back here and post what you found. lots of helpful fellas on this board. oh and try to do a search first lol.. (whistling) ....

 

everyone should own a basic obd ii scanner if they intend on keeping
these toyotas forever. 32 bucks on ebay

 

thats all? what all do they cover? or is it brand specific like toyotas etc etc..

 

well if you ever buy a scantool and want it to last you into the years, make sure its CAN capable

 

i know nothing about scans. so what are we looking for in a scantool? what is CAN capable etc etc.. how much do they run? yes i want one that can scan different vehicles not just toyotas. also dont they need to be updated periodically as cars change over time?? sorry for all the questions

 

The CAN-OBD 2 scan tools will pull and usually erase codes on any car sold in the US from 1996 to date, no updates necessary so far. Harbor Freight usually has the base model no frills scanners for $30-$40. E-bay would be a good resource too. Otherwise, Vato zone or others will scan vehicle codes for free.

 

after looking on ebay the 30$ scanners have to have a computer near by bc you have to plug the scanner to the computer AND the car at the SAME TIME.. that sucks bc i dont have a laptop

 

A company called Actron sels scanners at major retailers like Walmart Auto zone, etc, I have 2. One was $99 and pulls and clears codes ans also tells you the verbage of what is wrong (like "cylinder 2 misfire") well worth the $99, my other one is smaller and was $69 but only pulls and erases codes, but it came with a book to translate codes to verbage. Both are good deals and less than a 3/8 snapon ratchet.

 

not to bad thanks for the info..

 

Ok I got this one, that autodetects the protocol. it scans your adapter and finds which one you have.

it reads all obd II codes and can reset them, and also read I/M status.


it is all you need. if you want to run actual numbers and percentages you need a hundred dollar tool with pc software.

I use this and it gives me obd II and toyota codes. I look up the toyota codes on the internets

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ENHAN...spagenameZWDVW

the particular seller mattandleah will email you 5 times a day if you
have a problem. they kick ass !

turn key off, plug this in under dash, turn key on, read codes. great little tool
and it is only 40 bucks shipped to your door. it doesn't do CAN so check the year
of your vehicle and what scanner you buy


you don't need a scanner than can tell you verbally what the code is as long
as you have an internet connection you can find that info.

 

good stuff thanks man

 

I just had mine done at the dealership. It was the o2 sensor. $300 and i was out the door..not happy but i was out the door.. $130 for the part the rest was labor..

 

ouch... did they pull codes for free? or is that "Labor"

 

the only thing they "pulled" was me. I was actually at the dealership once before on a diffrent matter, i asked con'd them in pulling the codes the first time(light was out but the code was still there in memory i guess) theTech did say it was the sensor. I did not have time/money fix it then. I had them fix it this time. I guess they had to re check to make sure it was throwing the same code. it was. it was all labor.They pull nothing for nothing.
thanks for the reply.

 

hmm... so it sat all weekend as i was driving my old 91 4runner home to seattle. came back and drove the 97 around for awhile, had check engine light when it started... but awhile later it went off, and its still off.. for now? wierd?

 

codes can come and go. it could be temporary bad fuel, or signs of impending doom. the ecu does some math and if things go back to normal percentages and don't come back it clears the engine light.

sensors on their way out will flip the engine light back and forth until they finally decide to stay in bad condition

just try to get the code next time it happens, it can be over 50 different things causing it to light up. if it comes
and goes it is a good sign it is one single sensor you may be able to change on your own. the most simple yet
most likely cause would be the MAF needs cleaning with MAF specific cleaner. it won't kill you to clean it anyway.

this is the only sensor that commonly can be cleaned and it is good as new, yet will blow codes every 40,000
miles on a perfect vehicle. after that the next most simple and yet common sensor are the air fuel or o2 sensors.

but you absolutely need the actual codes or you may waste a lot of time

 

Edzo is right. most of these trucks use Two Trip Logic:

This can make early diagnosis a little more challenging.