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Check Engine Light Service 2013 Honda Pilot

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Honda Pilot and abruptly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Honda owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost 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 automobile over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2013 Honda Pilot checked as soon as available. Ignoring that warning could end up causing energetic wear and tear to expensive engine components.

When your 2013 Honda Pilot's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t polite, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is normally 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 mechanical probe tool that is used by our Honda auto repair mechanics at David McDavid Honda of Irving. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you opt for that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an trained professional to choose the issue and repair it.

2013 Honda Pilot Check Engine Light

A flashing light expresses that the problem is serious and if not taken care of now may result in major damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your 2013 Honda Pilot starts flashing, that means that the problem needs speedy attention and your Honda should be brought in now. This blinking light usually indicates a rigid engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can urgently increase 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, departed or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is glaring, please contact our team of automotive experts at David McDavid Honda of Irving immediately by calling 4694053340. If the problem is ignored or you continue to commute, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very lavish repair.

Is it safe to drive your 2013 Honda Pilot with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a critical issue and it is recommended to service your Honda Pilot hastily. This question is not particularly authentic 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 persistent to drive. This is mostly indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the car, it could be an indication of a more exciting problem. Call the experts at David McDavid Honda of Irving by dialing 4694053340 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2013 Honda to our certified mechanics as soon as practical.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2013 Honda Pilot?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as natural as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a critical problem that could cause critical damage to your engine and come with a enormous repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow consistently means something less critical but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in critical trouble and service is decisive instantly. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2013 Honda Pilot, we remarkably advise not to travel to work the automobile and schedule Honda service today. Below is a list of the most pure reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or alternative item can wreak havoc on your 2013 Honda Pilot if it’s not installed well. These aftermarket parts and accessories can eject the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound familiar, bring your Pilot to Honda and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, very 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 low or dead. The battery in your 2013 Honda Pilot is every usual. 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 assorted decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The cost of a new one depends on the type of Honda you travel to work, but check our extant service coupons and specials.
  • Your 2013 Honda Pilot has a vacuum leak. Every Honda Pilot has a vacuum system that performs a expanded variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps cut down 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, very if they’re exposed to profound heat or extreme cold.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are basic for your 2013 Honda Pilot. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture 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 destructive 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, considerable to more pricey repairs.
  • One of the most decent and plentiful cause is that your 2013 Honda Pilot gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2013 Honda Pilot 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 destructive 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 pricey. If your check engine light turns on today after you put gas in your 2013 Honda Pilot, first thing you should check is to make courageous the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the sum of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be fewer gigantic 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 2013 Honda Pilot's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to select the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A destructive O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • Your catalytic converter is destructive or going destructive. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2013 Honda Pilot’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's work is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why David McDavid Honda of Irving 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 2013 Honda Pilot 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 alternative problems from overheating.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Honda Pilot is what determines how much fuel is basic to run your engine efficiently by measuring the sum of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to certain changes, like altitude. If your Honda Pilot is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a cold change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a destructive mass airflow sensor.

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 changed. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact David McDavid Honda of Irving to help determine if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is hard to predict how copious miles you can drive with the warning light on. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2013 Honda Pilot will consistently 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 2013 Honda Pilot 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 Irving so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most typically misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2013 Honda Pilot is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few different ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light brightens in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2013 Honda Pilot. Some of these include ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name various. With that being said, the check engine light can illustrate a variety of clear things. It can be as authentic as your gas cap being loose or as hazardous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2013 Honda Pilot, contact David McDavid Honda of Irving. Contact David McDavid Honda of Irving today! Our Honda service department can assist you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or inspect why your check engine light is flashing.

2013 Honda Pilot Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless ability causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are particular natural causes including something as easy as a loose gas cap. Extra natural reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged oxygen sensor, faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, 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 Mechanics and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as essential 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 revamped.

Every 2013 Honda Pilot was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its hefty systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic 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 precisely is guilty nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; David McDavid Honda of Irving provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Highly Qualified Service professional.

2013 Honda Pilot Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that scant light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly 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 another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also established as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Pilot. There are hundreds of towering codes that your check engine light can determine. While that sounds daunting, with a scant patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you convenient knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is truly supposed to do: be your guide. Sadly, visible and convenient vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of feasible OBD codes, there are also hundreds of feasible reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is notable for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a efficient concern, you risk damaging your automobile other by not repairing the issue right away. Call David McDavid Honda of Irving at 4694053340 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out today by a certified Honda mechanic.

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

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