Free Check Engine Light Test
I noticed, one afternoon, that the Check Engine light had come on in my car. It seemed to be running fine and a month earlier had been to the dealer for its scheduled 52,500 mile inspection, which turned up no problems. I called the dealer’s service department and told them that the light had come on and asked if they could take a look at it. The guy on the phone said, “Sure, bring it in, and the standard charge is $99.95.” I balked. That’s one hundred dollars just to plug the diagnostic gizmo into a slot in the armrest – they don’t even need to pop the hood – and read the error message. The service guy, correctly reading my hesitation, helpfully told me to check the gas cap. I bought myself some time by making an appointment for the following Monday.
In the meantime, I thoroughly Googled the Check Engine light and found that it most often indicates a problem with the emissions system (either the vehicle’s emissions are outside of normal parameters, or the monitoring system is faulty), which can get expensive. But the light may also be caused by a loose gas cap or an ignition misfire, the latter being metaphorically described as a harmless hiccup. The general consensus on the various message boards was that one should have the cause diagnosed, in the event that the light is a symptom of a serious malfunction, but that dealerships are going to severely overcharge you to do this. After reading that, I called the dealer back and told them I’d have to reschedule.
A few posts mentioned that Autozone would provide free diagnostic testing, and indeed, if you Google “autozone free diagnostic”, the first link is to a page which reads, “Does the “Check Engine” light in your car stay on while you drive? Our free diagnostic service can tell you what caused your “Check Engine” light to come on …and what you should do about it.”
Allow me to digress for a moment and say that, for a company as large as Autozone, there is no excuse for making customers use such a ugly, clunky, difficult-to-navigate and incomplete web site. But I nonetheless use this horrible web site to find the “nearest” store, which isn’t very close at all, and give them a call. The lady on the phone says, “No, we charge 35 dollars for that.” I thanked her and hung up.
Then I went to Google Maps and typed in my zipcode and “autozone”. As it turns out, there is an Autozone store just a few blocks away that the Autozone web site makes no mention of. I call this store and ask the same thing, and the guy says, “Sure, bring it in.” I drive over and the guy plugs in the OBD II diagnostic code reader and a few seconds later tells me that the car is reporting an ignition system problem, possibly caused by a bad sparkplug, which run about 3 bucks each, or maybe a problem with the cables or coils, which can get expensive to replace. I ask him if he can turn the light off so that I can drive around for a few days and see if it comes back on, and he says, “Sure.”
That’s the story. The Check Engine light is off again, I’m not out a hundred bucks, and I have a pretty good idea what to look for if it does come back on again. This is really a service that the dealerships should be providing for free. It’s pretty infuriating to have someone charge $100 for a service that the guy down the street will do for free.
