Check engine light 2002 Accord EX

2002 Accord EX , 4cyl automatic, 49,200 miles.
Just had the check engine light come on. Checked the gas
cap.. okay. Any ideas what it can be before I bring it to the
Honda dealer in the morning. Is it alright to drive? Starts up
and drives like nothing is wrong. Hopefully it's a warranty issue.
Thanx for any feedback.

 

If you are in the US, you could bring it to pepboys or autozone. The'll
scan the car for free and tell you what the code is and can even reset
it, if you want to.

Remco

 

It's all right to drive. The CEL is to indicate something is wrong with the
emission control, and as long as the engine runs okay it is still safe to
drive. Some failures can make the mixture very rich, and hard driving on the
freeway can damage the catalytic converter in that case, but in-town and
gentle freeway driving are quite safe.

A thought on warranty - in the US many emissions components have a separate,
federally mandated, extended warranty period.

Mike

 

The only time it could be bad to drive a car with the cel on is if the light
is flashing,
Other than that get it to the dealer in the morn

 

Thanks for all the feedback. The dealer pulled the code and changed-out
the primary OS. Say's it was the heater primary OS. No charge for the code
pulled.... great news. Oh! and the replaced part was under the warranty.

 

Great news.
We had a car in the shop with a code, and her personal Mech said change the
fuel filter. It took some doing but we followed orders then informed her the
CEL is still on... So we pulled codes, Cat converter failing.ally at 80,000
so we sent her to the dealer. They are going to charge her to Diagnose it,
but the part will be free. When my for a threw a light Ford told me "If we
look at it and the problem is emissions, no charge. But if it is something
else then we will charge you for the time.

That was somewhat fair



--
Stephen W. Hansen
ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
ASE Undercar Specialist