MY ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON!, Can i get some feedback? imma newbie Options

[mathshop]

Hey, well im new to this forum, i own a 1997 celica st but i have been reading in here for quite some time now, but anywaise... to the problem....

a couple of hours ago, (around 9:30pm) i was driving home and than i notice this for quite some time now that, if im in 4 or 5th gear at around 30-40 mph, my car is lagging alot, i mean yes i shouldnt really be in those gears at those speeds, and yes i might lag due to the lack of power, but is it normal to lag that much? or is my car totally stripped out of power? I've notice this for quite some months now, due to the fact ive only owned the car for about a year. Im only 17 right now so i really couldnt notice it anywaise if it was happening earlier or not, however, as i was driving at like 45 mph in 5th gear, my engine light came one..... and now...i dont know what the problem is....

my car currently has 112XXX miles on it, do u guys just think it needs a tune-up? or do u think something from the engine is messed up? BTW i dont know if this matters or not, but when i smelt the oil dip, it smelt burnt, if that means anything lol.. im just quite worried because this is my 1st car, which i took full control over, and i dont want to lose my baby already .....well thanks anywaise for looking, and any feedback will help,

Cheng...

This post has been edited by mathshop: Jul 27, 2006 - 10:32 PM

[95CelicaST]

have you unhooked your battery lately? Try resetting the ECU by unhooking the battery for a few minutes and then hooking it back up. Make sure you go through the relearn process. If you have a manual just start it up and let it sit while running. It should relearn by itself. If that doesn't help then definately an oil change.

Have you been consuming an outrageous amount of gas?

[mathshop]

no i havent unhooked it recently, maybe... a few months ago? my oil change is still half full, i changed it last month, and i have about a 1000 more miles to go on it, and no i havent been consuming, i still get around 30-35... but i do drive daily ranging from 30-40 miles a day...

[lagos]

go to a local autozone, advance auto, etc.. they can pull the code and tell you what it is for free.

and dont worry . there really isint an engine code that means your motor is bad or anything like that. its normally a sensor that has a problem. just make sure you have oil and coolant in the car.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jul 27, 2006 - 10:49 PM

[Mynzeyes]

go to a local autozone, advance auto, etc.. they can pull the code and tell you what it is for free.

and dont worry . there really isint an engine code that means your motor is bad or anything like that. its normally a sensor that has a problem. just make sure you have oil and coolant in the car.

i think this is only if it's a 96+ isn't it? or, 95+? i called recently, bc my mom's car threw a code, and he said as long as it's after 94, it's fine. so iono if it's not until OBDII or not? do you?

and yeah, usually it's an EGR valve or O2 sensor. easy fixes generally. unless it's the knock sensor. which is doubtful.

This post has been edited by Mynzeyes: Jul 28, 2006 - 12:33 AM

[presure2]

john, for our celicas, its 96+.
thats when we changed over to OBDII

like art said, take it over to your local autozone, find out what the code is, then repair it yourself.
good luck!

[tomazws]

Yup, Autozone will lend you the detector, don't go to Kragen because they don't provide you with that.