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Check Engine Light Service 2020 Honda Civic

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Honda Civic and immediately, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Honda owners, your heart sinks a miniature because you have miniature idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the price of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2020 Honda Civic checked as soon as likely. Ignoring that warning could end up causing extensive damage to costly engine components.

When your 2020 Honda Civic's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t curious, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is constantly labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic probe tool that is used by our Honda auto repair mechanics at David McDavid Honda of Frisco. There are also a number of relatively economical code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you pick that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an trained licensed to read the issue and repair it.

2020 Honda Civic Check Engine Light

A shining light indicates that the problem is alarming and if not taken care of urgently may result in enormous damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your 2020 Honda Civic starts shining, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your Honda should be brought in urgently. This blinking light usually expresses a strict engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can instantly expand the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can actually be the cause. A bad, classic or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our squad of automotive experts at David McDavid Honda of Frisco rapidly by calling 4694053754. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a particularly pricey repair.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not perfectly tightened to a more extraordinary failure like a aggressive catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it fitting to get the detailed code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is generally between $88 and $111. The fitting news, David McDavid Honda of Frisco offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help indicate the cause of your check engine light.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2020 Honda Civic?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a hazardous problem that could cause hazardous damage to your engine and come with a intense repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow frequently means something less hazardous but a blinking check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in hazardous trouble and service is basic today. If your check engine light is blinking in your 2020 Honda Civic, we remarkably recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Honda service today. Below is a list of the most admitted reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • One of the most regular and frequent cause is that your 2020 Honda Civic gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2020 Honda Civic serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is old or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't costly. If your check engine light turns on immediately after you put gas in your 2020 Honda Civic, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2020 Honda Civic’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is commonly caused by neglected maintenance, which is why David McDavid Honda of Frisco offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Honda service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2020 Honda Civic will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause other problems from overheating.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less factual when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2020 Honda Civic's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to learn the right variety of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • Your 2020 Honda Civic has a vacuum leak. Every Honda Civic has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to important heat or extreme crisp.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Honda Civic is what determines how much fuel is needed to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to courageous changes, like altitude. If your Honda Civic is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your 2020 Honda Civic. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel variety in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or old, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, big to more costly repairs.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak havoc on your 2020 Honda Civic if it’s not installed accordingly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can ditch the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound chummy, bring your Civic to Honda and have our department of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed perfectly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • The battery is small or dead. The battery in your 2020 Honda Civic is every vital. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't truly require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Honda you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most frequently misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2020 Honda Civic is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few odd ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your car. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored car performance since the 80s and do a mixture of things for your 2020 Honda Civic. Some of these include shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of extra things. It can be as effortless as your gas cap being loose or as critical as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2020 Honda Civic, contact David McDavid Honda of Frisco. Contact David McDavid Honda of Frisco today! Our Honda service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or observe why your check engine light is flashing.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be interchanged. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how countless miles you can travel to work with the warning light on. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy properly. If you check engine light is shining, we recommend that you pull over and contact David McDavid Honda of Frisco to help mean if your vehicle is secure to travel to work in or if we recommend a tow truck.

2020 Honda Civic Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are many attainable causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several beneficial causes including something as beneficial as a loose gas cap. Alternative beneficial reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, dirty mass airflow sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Honda Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as imperative to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Honda issue was fixed.

Every 2020 Honda Civic was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its laborious systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the computerized control unit. If the computerized control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is inaccurate nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; David McDavid Honda of Frisco provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Immensely Qualified Service skilled.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2020 Honda Civic will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going functional, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2020 Honda Civic light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to David McDavid Honda of Frisco so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

2020 Honda Civic Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that small light on your vehicle’s dashboard expeditiously illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just divergent name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Civic. There are hundreds of odd codes that your check engine light can indicate. While that sounds daunting, with a small patience, tackling dominant diagnostics will give you useful knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, clear and favorable vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of available OBD codes, there are also hundreds of available reasons for the light, including:

  • Computer output circuit issues
  • Old Battery
  • Bad Spark Plugs
  • Emissions controls issues
  • Fuel and air metering systems problems
  • O2 Sensor
  • Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
  • Ignition system faults
  • Transmission issues

This is why it is essential for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call David McDavid Honda of Frisco at 4694053754 hastily or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out promptly by a certified Honda mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a rigorous concern, you risk damaging your vehicle further by not repairing the issue right away.

Is it safe to drive your 2020 Honda Civic with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a precarious issue and it is recommended to service your Honda Civic expeditiously. This question is not very straightforward because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is typically indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more alarming problem. Call the experts at David McDavid Honda of Frisco by dialing 4694053754 so you can describe the issues. Or cut down your speed and bring your 2020 Honda to our certified mechanics as soon as functional.