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Did you just drive through a deep puddle of water?
If so, your electrical system may be wet. The
condition will usually be corrected when the
electrical system dries out. A few driving trips
should turn the light off.
Have you recently changed brands of fuel?
If so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel.
See Gasoline Octane on page 306. Poor fuel
quality will cause your engine not to run as
efficiently as designed. You may notice this as
stalling after start-up, stalling when you put
the vehicle into gear, misfiring, hesitation on
acceleration, or stumbling on acceleration.
(These conditions may go away once the engine
is warmed up.) This will be detected by the
system and cause the light to turn on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand you use. It will require at
least one full tank of the proper fuel to turn the
light off.
If none of the above steps have made the light
turn off, your retailer can check the vehicle.
Your retailer has the proper test equipment and
diagnostic tools to fix any mechanical or electrical
problems that may have developed.
Emissions Inspection and
Maintenance Programs
Some state/provincial and local governments have
or may begin programs to inspect the emission
control equipment on your vehicle. Failure to pass
this inspection could prevent you from getting a
vehicle registration.
Here are some things you need to know in order
to help your vehicle pass an inspection:
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the
check engine light is on or not working properly.
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the OBD
(on-board diagnostic) system determines that
critical emission control systems have not been
completely diagnosed by the system. The vehicle
would be considered not ready for inspection.
This can happen if you have recently replaced
your battery or if your battery has run down. The
diagnostic system is designed to evaluate critical
emission control systems during normal driving.
This may take several days of routine driving. If you
have done this and your vehicle still does not pass
the inspection for lack of OBD system readiness,
your retailer can prepare the vehicle for inspection.
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