My daughter has a (IIRC) 1995 Crown Victoria given to her by her grandparents. This afternoon the red “Check Engine” light came on on she stopped the car, and called me. I called her grandfather, and he said the light came on occasionally then went away, and that it was usually no big deal, but this time it might be due to the car hitting 60,000 mile reccommended service interval, and indeed the car had 61,400 miles . I checked the oil level as precaution, and while it might be able to take a quart or two, the oil level was at the lower level of the acceptable range level (according to the dipstick level).
According to this website there’s a ton of maintenances that need to be done at 60,000 miles that look to cost several hundred dollars in total.
Three questions:
1: Is the Check engine light indeed due to this maintenance interval suggestion? If so it seems like kind of frightening & drastic way to let someone know this.
2: How mission critical is it that these services be done immediately? Can they be delayed for several months?
3: If the light is due to this interval issue can it be reset until she can get into the dealership to have it done so she’s not driving around with the “check engine” light on all the time?I checked the manuals website, but didn’t see anything.
Check engine light indicates that one or more engine sensors are reporting out of range values to the onboard computer.
The smart thing to do is have the vehicle repaired such that those out of range values are corrected. You’ll likely enjoy greater fuel economy after the repairs are completed.
The timing belt is usually good for about 60K miles.
When the timing belt breaks, the car will stop dead, wherever it is. Whatever other maintenance your daughter might want to take care of right now, I recommend she consider getting that done. Because stopping dead in the middle of busy traffic when the timing belt break really sucks.
Like danceswithcats said, it could be a wide variety of things. There is a way to narrow it down and that’s to use a vehicle code reader, which some stores or mechanics might let you use for free one time, or you can buy one for $90-$200 (depending on model).
The catch is that the OBD-2 standard was made mandatory in 1996. I checked wikipedia and it’s possible that a 1995 Lincoln (GM made them, didn’t they?) would use an older version of the data port, OBD-1.5, which has a specific reader - might need a dealer to check it.
FWIW I got a decent OBD-2 code reader for about $100 after rebate. The first time I used it the “check engine” light was due to a dirty MAF sensor, it took me about 30 minutes to use the reader and look up the problem online, and another hour of fiddling around to figure out how to pop the sensor out and clean it. Required a $6 can of electronic cleaner spray. So maybe 2-3 hours of my time and $106, compared with a trip to the mechanic, an hour or two of their shop time, etc. I figure it paid for itself right there and I’ve got the tool which can also be used by my friends. Worth the investment.
The check engine light is NOT a service reminder light. The check engine light is a malfunction indicator light.
I am almost sure a 1995 Crown Vic would be an OBD I system. This means that the computer is monitoring various sensors for complete circuits and plausibility. OBD I does not check for gas cap installation, catalytic converter efficiency, or misfire. This means that the computer has either sensed an open or shorted connection to one of its sensors, or that one of the sensor readings is not inside the expected range. Engine temp at -40 for an extended period of time for example.
How important is it to repair right now? Tough one. It might be minor or it might lead to a much larger repair bill if left ignored. Impossible to tell without a proper diagnosis. How lucky do you feel?
If you decide to put off the 60K service, then get the oil changed now. Do not put off the oil change.
Twick I think that all Crown Vic engines are chain driven, but I could be wrong. Maybe we can get Gary T to stop by and correct me if I am wrong.
Exact same thing happened to me when my father gave me his '96 Grand Am. I took it to a mechanic (which she should), who said it was detecting an occasional slip in the transmission. Basically, if everything’s cool for n miles (n depends on the system in question) the light goes off. Every so often the light would go off, but sometimes it’d come back on again when there was a little slip.
In my case it was perfectly driveable, but your daughter should get it checked. I think AAMCO will run the check on the computer for free, actually. Anyhow, it’s not necessarily anything that has to be fixed right away.
Of course, I was hoping to have a real job by now and buy a new (to me) car. A month ago my registration came up and the red light would be an instant emissions fail. $5k just to be able to renew my registration on a perfectly useable car
Not that it is recommended, but I do believe that disconnecting the main battery will reset the computer, resulting in the check engine light turning off until the sensor is tripped again.
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions, and especially Twickster who may not have all the mechanical info down pat, but who looks fabulous behind the wheel!
