97 Odyssey check engine light, running fine though?
 

My 97 odyssey has never given me any trouble, so I was suprised yesterday when the check engine light came on. I checked the oil, but when I read my manual, it says this light has something to do with the emissions system. I had a recall fixed about 2 years ago at the dealer, something to do with emissions system, and a few days later this light came on.. I carried it back to honda and they fixed something again (no charge) and the light hasn't come on again. Can't really afford to put it in the shop, any suggestions? ???
It seems to be running fine, but I don't want to damage it by driving it too much.

Got to Autozone and have them pull the error code for you.......then you can find out for yourself what the problem is.....maybe it is just a misfire or something simple, but you won't know until you get the code. By the way, AutoZone (and the like) will pull the code for free and it takes all of 5 minutes.

Also remember the emissions warrenty is covered for a period of 14 years or 150 k mile.

Depends on year, make, model. Not all honda's have a blanket 14/150k warrenty for emissions. I had a 01 Accord that needed a O2 sensor and it was at 75k and Honda did not cover it.

Thats because its not mentioned in the emissions recall. Im not talking about normal 8/80 emisions coverage.

There is no emissions recall, it's an extension for select vehicles only.

Recall, extension, whatever you wanna call it its still covered and the customer still gets a post card and we still gotta check the shit for free so whats the difference.

haha
 

"Yes sir, your next service will be the 60k/transmission replacement"

hahahahahahahah thats funny. Seems like thats true. They're taking all of our money away. So they just make crappy parts.
So what do you think of those pain in the ass interlock recall? After you do procedure B, the old key doesn't want to work in the new cylinder.. Pfffft

Back to the original question (and this just happened on my '00 Civic)

The light is telling you that the car has registered a fault in the emissions system. It put a trouble code in the computer that the technician can read.

On one hand, it could have just been a "hiccup", in which case the light will come on, but nothing is really wrong. You can reset the ECU if you want to see if it was just a hiccup and not an actual problem. One way to reset the ECU is to simply disconnect the negative battery cable for a few minutes. BE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR RADIO SECURITY CODE BEFORE YOU DO THIS. When you connect the battery back, you will have to input this code to make the radio work again (it's a security feature).

If, after resetting the ECU, the light goes off and stays off, it was probably just a gremlin in your system

If it remains on, there may indeed be a problem with your emissions control system. There are (typically) two oxygen sensors, and they compare values to see if your catalytic converter is functioning normally, and if the fuel/air mixture is correct (by checking to see what's in the exhaust gas).

One oxygen sensor is located in front of the catalytic converter (upstream), and one is located after the converter (downstream). Either one of these may be causing the problem.

Could be a loose connection, or the dang things are broke. Mine, thankfully, was the upstream oxygen sensor. $90 for part, and I changed it myself (it looks like a spark plug sticking out of your exhaust line) on the Civic. The downstream oxygen sensor is about $200.

The ECU code will tell you which, if any, parts are showing errors. Have a friendly mechanic hook up their computer and tell you. Shouldn't cost anything if you're nice to them.

P.S. - in my situation, the light came on, and after I reset the ECU it stayed on, so the computer said the BANK 1 SENSOR 1 had an error. The engine itself didn't show any rough idle or any other problems, and I drove it for another week or so (not racing or hard driving).

After I changed the oxygen sensor, I had to reset the ECU again, and the light has remained off since. No change in engine performance, but I may see a slight change in mileage...