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Is it safe to drive your 2018 Honda Fit with the check engine light on?

This question is not extremely simple 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 secure to drive. This is generally 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 serious problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a serious issue and it is suggested to service your Honda Fit instantly. Call the experts at Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda by dialing 7272633103 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2018 Honda to our certified mechanics as promptly as imaginable.

2018 Honda Fit Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating, particularly to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminate, 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, again known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Fit. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can correctly represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you advantageous knowledge about your vehicle and will again allow that crucial Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, obvious and useful vehicle symptoms do not repeatedly accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of imaginable OBD codes, there are again hundreds of imaginable reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is important for someone who does not have a lot of prevailing automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a serious concern, you risk damaging your vehicle further by not repairing the issue right away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out rapidly by a skillful certified Honda mechanic. Call Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda at 7272633103 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2018 Honda Fit?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Again, the check engine light could again be a warning of a significant problem that could cause serious damage to your engine and come with a hefty and pricey repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady and continuous glow ordinarily means something less serious but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in significant trouble and useful service is required rapidly. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2018 Honda Fit, we exceedingly endorse not to drive the vehicle and schedule Honda service today. Below is a list of the most common reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Honda Fit is what determines how much fuel is required 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 certain changes, like altitude. If your Honda Fit is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden rapid change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a important sign of a damaged mass airflow sensor.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2018 Honda Fit is each important. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road in front, 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 absolutely require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Honda you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak extreme havoc on your 2018 Honda Fit if it’s not installed correctly. These aftermarket components and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the car from starting. If these issues sound familiar, bring your Fit to Honda and have our team of talented certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed properly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM components first place might cost a little bit more but could help you save substantially from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are required for your 2018 Honda Fit. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel combination in the combustion chamber of your car. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run smooth. 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 a noticeable 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, leading to more costly repairs.
  • 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 more rapidly and your car will be less efficient when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A damaged sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause serious damage to your catalytic converter and your 2018 Honda Fit's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the explicitly correct combination of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A damaged O2 sensor can again cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • One of the most common and frequent cause is that your 2018 Honda Fit gas cap is loose, broken or missing. The gas cap for your 2018 Honda Fit serves different purposes. It prevents unpredictable 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 damaged 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 and be more pricey. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't costly. If your check engine light turns on swiftly after you put gas in your 2018 Honda Fit, 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 2018 Honda Fit’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A broken catalytic converter is frequently caused by invariably neglected maintenance, which is why Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda offers a free multi-point inspection with each Honda service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2018 Honda Fit 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 delicate problems from overheating.
  • Your 2018 Honda Fit has a vacuum leak. Each Honda Fit has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system again helps lower unhealthy 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 intense heat or extreme cold.

2018 Honda Fit Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2018 Honda Fit starts flashing, that means that the problem needs attention swiftly and your Honda should be brought in quickly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is exceptionally serious and if not taken care of swiftly may result in major and significant damage to the vehicle. This blinking light frequently indicates a severe engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can expeditiously raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an pricey and extensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exactly be the cause. A faulty, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is repeatedly flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda promptly by calling 7272633103. If the problem is totally ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a remarkably costly repair.

2018 Honda Fit Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several common causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Other mainly common reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, broken oxygen sensor, faulty emissions control part, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, 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 entirely repair it as needed 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 totally fixed.

Every 2018 Honda Fit was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its essential systems. The fast sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending important 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. Nonetheless, sadly that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what definitely is wrong nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Remarkably Qualified Service professional.

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 correctly tightened to a more serious failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it good to get the proper code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is generally between $88 and $111. The good news, Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda offers entirely free multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most normally misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2018 Honda Fit is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the critical onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a variety of 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 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 variety of things for your 2018 Honda Fit. Some of these essential duties include ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a wide range of different things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as dangerous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2018 Honda Fit, contact Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda. Our Honda service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing. Contact Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda today!

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2018 Honda Fit 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 immediately turn itself off. Still, if your catalytic converter is working correctly, 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 2018 Honda Fit 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 Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Check Engine Light Service 2018 Honda Fit

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Honda Fit and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Honda owners, your heart sinks exceptionally because you may have absolutely 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, serene breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is advised that you get your 2018 Honda Fit checked immediately. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major, considerable damage to pricey engine parts.

When your 2018 Honda Fit's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is generally 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 can expeditiously identify the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Honda auto repair mechanics at Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda. There are also a number of essentially inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you choose that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to determine the definitely correct issue and repair it.

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

If you check engine light is flashing, we suggest that you pull over and contact Courtesy Palm Harbor Honda to help determine if your vehicle is secure to drive in or if we suggest a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is usually difficult to predict how many miles you can be secure in driving with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.