had a CEL come on last night

[coldmm803]

so, last night i had a cel come on in my car. i took it to the dealer so they can take a look at it today and they just called me a few minutes ago. they said that since i have an aftermarket alarm there could be an issue and they will have to charge me $72/hour!!! to look at it but they wont look at it for more than an hr.(removed)? i've had an alarm on there for the past 3 years. and what does my alarm have to do with a problem with my engine?every now and then, when i start the car i hear a loose metal ratteling or something. its only when i start and only lasts 5-10 seconds. also, for the past few months (6 ish) i've thought the idle sounds off but took it to a dealer by school and they didn't think so.

[4azdmunky]

I would have to call schnanigans on them, I've been installing alarms for extra money for 15 years and NEVER had an alarm throw a CEL. At worse, I've had a starter disable relay not allow a car to start, but thats it. An alarm would have to integrate with a sensor or the ECE, which it doesnt. What is the code that it is throwing?

[Petrucci914]

Ask them what the code was, then research it yourself. The code will tell you what the issue is, and I doubt that it deals with your alarm.

[coldmm803]

well, its about 2 hrs later and they've not called back, so i'm guessing they've not had an issue. when they called before he said they've had "issues" in the past with vibes and aftermarket (AM) alarms. everyone i see around here driving a vibe is old and i highly doubt they have AM alarms. i'd really like to know what the code is so i can check here. wish i had a scanguage. now i have more reason to get one, just need to get paid...and deal with bills first.

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by coldmm803 »so, last night i had a cel come on in my car. i took it to the dealer so they can take a look at it today and they just called me a few minutes ago. they said that since i have an aftermarket alarm there could be an issue and they will have to charge me $72/hour!!! to look at it but they wont look at it for more than an hr.(removed)? i've had an alarm on there for the past 3 years. and what does my alarm have to do with a problem with my engine?every now and then, when i start the car i hear a loose metal ratteling or something. its only when i start and only lasts 5-10 seconds. also, for the past few months (6 ish) i've thought the idle sounds off but took it to a dealer by school and they didn't think so.do you have a aftermarket exhaust, header or down pipe? it could also be the heat shield loose. list your mods, miles, the exact cel code, when did you last change sparkplugs.is there another dealer you can try...they sound dumb.

[coldmm803]

mods = tint and alarm. not even a CAI. miles = 27,800. as far as i know the plugs haven't been changed. vibe was 3 yrs 3-21-08i'll try calling on my lunch break to find out cel code.

[BlueCrush]

I have made it a habit of checking my own CEL codes before I ever think about bringing it in. I have saved tons of $$ doing this and fixing it myself. Well worth the initial investment to get a OBD2 code reader.

[coldmm803]

ahahah just got off the phone with my mom, they called her and said that the issue is the cat converter. i had that replaced the first year or so i had the car and iirc it had 12,000 miles on it. i tried calling them to get the cel code but service was on the phone.

[4azdmunky]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »I have made it a habit of checking my own CEL codes before I ever think about bringing it in. I have saved tons of $$ doing this and fixing it myself. Well worth the initial investment to get a OBD2 code reader.AMEN!!!

[coldmm803]

i did get a chance to call them back on my lunch break and they "didn't have the paper work in front of them" so they couldn't tell me the code.picked the car up a lil bit ago and the paper work they left in the car doesn't list the code either the code was cleared so i can't take it to an auto parts store to get read. supposedly they ordered a new cat (like last time it will probably be the wrong one). but i've not been charged anything...yet.

[keithvibe]

go to advanced auto, autozone they will read the code for you free of charge. If you weren't 2hrs away i would drive up and read it for ya bwhahaha

[vibebob]

mine threw a cel last week, the cause was a loose gas cap. I had it checked at a local auto parts place. he ran the code, and immediately went to the gas cap. no charge.

[coldmm803]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »If you weren't 2hrs away i would drive up and read it for ya bwhahahayea, i the thought had crossed my mind today of meeting up with you. i should only be about 1 hr away, each way tho.Quote, originally posted by vibebob »mine threw a cel last week, the cause was a loose gas cap. I had it checked at a local auto parts place. he ran the code, and immediately went to the gas cap. no charge.i thought about that being a cause but i've not gotten gas since last friday after i got my oil changed. i've put on about 140 miles between then and the cel coming on and it just didn't seem like a realistic option

[coldmm803]

cel came back on, on my drive to work this morning. after work i'm gona stop at the auto parts store down the road and see if they can read the code.i really dont see this issue being the cat. my exhaust doesn't smell like rotten eggs like last time and my gas mileage hasn't dropped like last time either. it looks like i'm averaging 30mpg on this tank.

[yippeekyaa]

It could be something as simple as the gas you recently put in the car. I'm having issues with ethanol blended gas throwing the cel for a cat code. When i put in non-ethanol blend the light goes out.

[coldmm803]

that could be the cause, last time i got gas it was a BP (which i've used a few times before and not had issues) but i normally go to Sunoco. as far as i'm aware every station around here has ethanol in it or at least the ones i go to.got the code read after work and it was P0420 Catylitic Converter, so the dealer was telling me the truth.