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What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2018 Lexus RX 350?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as commonplace as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a unhealthy problem that could cause unhealthy wear and tear to your engine and come with a generous repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A practical glow typically means something less unhealthy but a twinkling check engine light illustrates that your vehicle’s engine is in unhealthy trouble and service is mandatory quickly. If your check engine light is twinkling in your 2018 Lexus RX 350, we immensely recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Lexus service today. Below is a list of the most typical reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your catalytic converter is destructive or going destructive. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2018 Lexus RX 350’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function 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 Nalley Lexus Roswell offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Lexus service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2018 Lexus RX 350 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 additional problems from overheating.
  • Your 2018 Lexus RX 350 has a vacuum leak. Every Lexus RX 350 has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps cut 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, particularly if they’re exposed to bizarre heat or extreme cold.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or additional item can wreak havoc on your 2018 Lexus RX 350 if it’s not installed perfectly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can ditch the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound conscious, transport your RX 350 to Lexus and have our department of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed perfectly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, particularly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might price a little bit more but could save you money from having to get low work and damage caused by low installation work corrected.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your 2018 Lexus RX 350. 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 long-established, you will experience low performance and reduced power. In a lot 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, best to more expensive repairs.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2018 Lexus RX 350 is every exciting. 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 a lot decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The rate of a new one depends on the type of Lexus you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, conscious as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less feasible 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 2018 Lexus RX 350's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to mean the polite 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 mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Lexus RX 350 is what determines how much fuel is needed 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 conspicuous changes, like altitude. If your Lexus RX 350 is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a destructive mass airflow sensor.
  • One of the most ongoing and many cause is that your 2018 Lexus RX 350 gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2018 Lexus RX 350 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 long-established 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 expensive. If your check engine light turns on urgently after you put gas in your 2018 Lexus RX 350, first thing you should check is to make confident the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2018 Lexus RX 350 will ordinarily 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 proper, 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 Lexus RX 350 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 Nalley Lexus Roswell so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

2018 Lexus RX 350 Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that tiny light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear proper 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 admitted as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your RX 350. There are hundreds of contrasting codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a tiny patience, tackling principal diagnostics will give you decent knowledge about your car and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, conspicuous and decent car symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of accurate OBD codes, there are also hundreds of accurate reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is imperative 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 critical concern, you risk damaging your car additional by not repairing the issue prudent away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out quickly by a certified Lexus mechanic. Call Nalley Lexus Roswell at 7702848580 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!

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 well tightened to a more strict failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it efficient to get the legal code reading and diagnosis. The intermediate cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is mostly between $88 and $111. The efficient news, Nalley Lexus Roswell offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to aid designate the cause of your check engine light.

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

The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. If you check engine light is flashing, we endorse that you pull over and contact Nalley Lexus Roswell to help represent if your vehicle is reliable to drive in or if we endorse a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is laborious to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be changed.

Check Engine Light Service 2018 Lexus RX 350

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Lexus RX 350 and swiftly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Lexus 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 car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2018 Lexus RX 350 checked as soon as viable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to fancy engine components.

When your 2018 Lexus RX 350's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t good, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is typically 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 computerized inspect tool that is used by our Lexus auto repair mechanics at Nalley Lexus Roswell. There are also a number of comparably slight code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you choice that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced trained to designate the issue and repair it.

Is it safe to drive your 2018 Lexus RX 350 with the check engine light on?

This question is not tremendously easy 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 dependable to drive. This is naturally 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 unhealthy problem. If the check engine light is blinking, this means that there is a unhealthy issue and it is recommended to service your Lexus RX 350 abruptly. Call the specialists at Nalley Lexus Roswell by dialing 7702848580 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and deliver your 2018 Lexus to our certified mechanics as soon as feasible.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most typically misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2018 Lexus RX 350 is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in copious substitute 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 vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2018 Lexus RX 350. Some of these include ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name some. With that being said, the check engine light can imply a variety of astonishing things. It can be as easy as your gas cap being loose or as perilous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2018 Lexus RX 350, contact Nalley Lexus Roswell. Our Lexus 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 Nalley Lexus Roswell today!

2018 Lexus RX 350 Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless capability causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are frequent accepted causes encompassing something as plain as a loose gas cap. Substitute accepted reasons for a Check Engine Light are a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, dirty mass airflow sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Lexus Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as imperative to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Lexus issue was fixed.

Every 2018 Lexus RX 350 was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its vital 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 exactly is incorrect nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Nalley Lexus Roswell 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 trained.

2018 Lexus RX 350 Check Engine Light

A flashing light suggests that the problem is draconian and if not taken care of urgently may result in main damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your 2018 Lexus RX 350 starts flashing, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your Lexus should be delivered in urgently. This flashing light customarily indicates a harsh engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can quickly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is possible, requiring an lavish repair. A Bit owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exactly be the cause. A bad, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a incredibly expensive repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Lexus Roswell quickly by calling 7702848580.