Check Engine light on....

[PureNocence]

My check engine light has been on the past couple of days, the year on my Solara is 2001. I got 55,000 miles on it about. I've been changing my oil and oil filter regularly every 3,000 miles and I changed my air filter once around the 30,000 mile mark. I made an appointment with one of the Toyota Dealerships to see what's the problem in a couple of days. I read stuff about changing spark plugs, transmission fluid, engine coolant and pcv valve..... all of which i have never gotten done before. Could this be why my check engine light is on?? I just don't want to get ripped off at the dealership when they tell me to replace things and changing things...I don't need replacing.

Also can someone tell me how or a link to a site for how to check my spark plugs and pcv valves and what not to see if they need replacing?


Thanks for your help.

Karch

Dayuuum...that's kind of a lot of miles isn't it? I mean my car is a '99 and I've got 38,000 miles on it...I thought that was a lot

[incognito]

It might even grease the skids for future encounters with them.

Yes, that's pretty much what I was thinking They probably think I've been pissed and would not be coming back, so it might smooth the waters too. Not to mention, like you said, it would help other people. And what better time than Christmastime.

And to PureNocence: 38,000 miles isn't bad for a '99. That's about the annual mileage of the average driver. 55K for a 2001 does sound like a lot, but doesn't surprise me: Case in point, I've got well over 60,000 for a 2000 I bought in March 2000, so I average about 23K a year. We can't help it...these cars are built for heavy driving.

[karch]

first of all incognito, congrats on getting your problem resolved.


Purenocence, yeah I know I have a lot of miles on my car already. I drive a lot, especially the summer months, I tack on a lot of miles during that time. I got my car in January 2001, January 2002 I had about 31,000. It's about to be January 2003, and I'll probably have 57,000 miles on my car by then, so that would be 26,0000 miles this year. I get told by a lot of people that my car is depreciating in it's re-sale value really fast, because of the miles I put on it. But I figure I have a new car, I might as well drive it instead of staring at it in my drive way.

[incognito]

Thanks, Karch - a long road, but I think we got there.

And to add to your comment, I've also been told by many that all the mileage I put on the car is killing its resale value. That is very true, but the fact of the matter is, the minute your car goes over 100,000 miles, it's practically worthless when you go to trade it in. And since I know I'll always go past 100,000 with any car I own, I don't even think about it anymore. I don't know about everyone else, but I would never get rid of my car before 100,000 miles (unless it was giving a lot of trouble), otherwise I'd be buying a car every 3-4 years, which to me is ridiculous. You're right - you spent a lot of money on the car, you might as well use it. Who buys approximately a $23,000 car to have it sit in the garage and collect dust?