Fell for the Engine Flush scam... now engine light is on!

[Honky Hindu]

Went to Valvoline last week to get my oil changed on my Mazda 3, and sure enough... a oil change turned into a engine flush addition. Lets just say Im a sucker to any mechanic. Now my engine light is on, but the engine is not having any problems. What should I do?

Ive been hear about how these engine/tranny flushes are not good for the car.

 

[somebadlemonade]

most likely they forgot to clear the error codes when they were working on it, if it happened right after they worked on it, i'd raise some hell and try to get them to foot the bill(not likely) since any decent mechanic worth his salt wouldn't let a car leave the shop without trying to get more money out of you by telling you you'll likely run into problem in the near future if you don't fix something soon

 

[Hot Mega]

Went to Valvoline last week to get my oil changed on my Mazda 3, and sure enough... a oil change turned into a engine flush addition. Lets just say Im a sucker to any mechanic. Now my engine light is on, but the engine is not having any problems. What should I do?

Ive been hear about how these engine/tranny flushes are not good for the car.

Reset the OBD computer by disconnecting the battery cable. The check eng. light will go away. If it's nothing then it won't come back if it comes back call the place you had your care serviced and tell them your circumstance and trying and get them to diagnose the error for free. The worse they can do is say no and you're still where you are with the check eng. light.

In the long run however annoying it is to drive around with that thing lighting up your dashboard, they generally relate to some emissions circumstance and are not a problem unless you need to pass some vehicle inspection. As long as it isn't some symptom of some issue with your spark plug firing or mass airflow it's no biggie.

 

[jonnycumlately]

I'd go to your local Autozone store. They will hook up their ODB reader to your car and then give you a printout of the code and potential problem. They don't charge for this. I just did this with my car last month.

 

[blackbull1970]

I used to get scamed back in the day on shit like this cuz I am clueless on the mechanics of a car.

I took the advice of a friend about 10 years ago, always take your car to the manufacturer dealership of the car you own if you need major work done, regardless if you brought it their or not.

Yes you have to pay more, but they will not let that car leave the premisis' if it has a major problem when it came in.

Also if they discover other items that need attention, they will list them to you and discuss them with you. They will categorize what is important and what isnt so that way you can come back at a later date for repairs when you have the funds. They do not want repeat business, they want to improve their brand so you will come back later and trade that old car for a new car from them. Thats where they make their money.

Bring your car to the dealer for their major service plans like the 60K, 90K, 120K etc....This will keep your car running good and keep your maintenance low. Also they will have a maintenance record of your car in their system and can give you heads up in the future if items need to be repaired/replaced before they fail.

Taking your car to Jiffy Lube, Valvoline, Walmart, Goodyear, Firestone, etc....you gonna have problems cuz they depend on repeat business and will set your car up for failure.

Just a tip...........

 

[Ace Bandage]

Since I don't know anything about cars, I feel compelled to give you advice. It's only a little warning light, just let it go. The worst that can happen is that you'll die in violent, fiery explosion...