Service Engine Soon

I own a 1999 Pontiac Grand am GT.
The "Service engine soon" light came on today...
There are no noticable symptoms, the car appears to be running
just fine. I take well care of my car.
I change the oil change every 3000 miles.
transmission fluid was just checked by an authorized GM dealer.
the air filter was replaced with the oil change.
brake fluid, washer fluid, power steering fluid are all topped off.

I read my owners manual and it says to "Check the Gas cap",
which i did and it was properly installed.
Then it says "Take your car to an authorized dealer" if the gas cap isn't the problem.

I don't have $65.00 an hour for a GM mechanic to look at my car.

any simple solutions?

Thanks,
Gary

Autozone

"Get in the Zone!!!.... AUTOZONE!!!!"

:)

LoL yeh Autozone will check your code readout and reset it for free - it could be many many different things - anything from a faulty sensor to something more major such as a misfire. Get the code read.

Thanks guys...I will try the Autozone read out.
hopefully they can fix it and it's nothing major.


Autozone

Well, before I backed out of my garage to go to AUTOZONE...
I figured I would give the gas cap a try.
I screwed off my cap then I tightly screwed it back
on until it clicked ..almost 2 or 3 times around.
i shut off the car and turned it back on
and the light went out...

but why didn't the gas cap trick work earlier???


gary


Autozone

You might've fixed it the first time, and it just took a while to re-read the EVAP sensor and reset the code. I wouldn't worry about it if the light went out - it was probably deffinately a non-secure gascap - even just a small crack can release vapor and set off the sensor; very common after getting gas recently.

Just to elaborate a bit, always make sure cap is on straight and 3 clicks tight. I believe the 'puter' checks this system every time vehicle is started and if the light comes on it can take several interations of starting and checking before it will go out. In my case it has taken 2 or 3 days sometimes before it will get corrected

well, as of today the light is still off.

I always make sure my cap is tight. 3 times around, but this time
I stopped at a full service station....
What scared me was...I've owned this car for three years and it has never done that..

I appreciate the help from everyone in this thread.

Gary


You might've fixed it the first time, and it just took a while to re-read the EVAP sensor and reset the code. I wouldn't worry about it if the light went out - it was probably deffinately a non-secure gascap - even just a small crack can release vapor and set off the sensor; very common after getting gas recently.