What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Kia Optima?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a serious problem that could cause serious damage to your engine and come with a hefty repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow typically means something less serious but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in serious trouble and service is needed immediately. If your check engine light is flashing in your Kia Optima, we highly recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Kia service today. Below is a list of the most common reasons your check engine light can come on:

• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Kia Optima’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Nalley Kia offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Kia service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Kia Optima will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your automobile may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause contrasting problems from overheating.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Kia Optima is what determines how much fuel is decisive to run your engine efficiently by measuring the payment of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to accurate changes, like altitude. If your Kia Optima is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a abrupt change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are decisive for your Kia Optima. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel variety in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If you're spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or aged, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In a little extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or wear and tear to ignition coils and O2 sensors, considerable to more pricey repairs.
So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause wear and tear to your catalytic converter and your Kia Optima's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to learn the right variety of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a automobile to fail an emissions test.
• Your Kia Optima has a vacuum leak. Every Kia Optima has a vacuum system that performs a wide array of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can bare out and crack, incredibly if they’re exposed to exciting heat or extreme angry.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or contrasting item can wreak havoc on your Kia Optima if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discharge the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even impede the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound typical, bring your Optima to Kia and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, incredibly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and wear and tear caused by poor installation work corrected.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, typical as the O2 sensor, measures the payment of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less persuasive when it comes to fuel economy.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in you Kia Optima every enormous. Without a automobile battery, your automobile won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s automobile batteries last much longer than they did some decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The rate of a new one depends on the type of Kia you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
• One of the most typical and copious cause is that your Kia Optima gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Kia Optima serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is aged or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't pricey. If your check engine light turns on suddenly after you put gas in your Kia Optima, first thing you should check is to make bold the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is typically between $88 and $111. The decisive news, Nalley Kia offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help pick the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more genuine failure same a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it decisive to get the appropriate code reading and diagnosis.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Kia Optima will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going functional, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your Kia Optima light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Nalley Kia so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Check Engine Light Service Kia Optima

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Kia Optima and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Kia owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your Kia Optima checked as soon as possible. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to expensive engine components.

When your Kia Optima's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is typically labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Kia auto repair mechanics at Nalley Kia. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you choose that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to determine the issue and repair it.

Is it safe to drive your Kia Optima with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is twinkling, this means that there is a active issue and it is recommended to service your Kia Optima abruptly. This question is not very evident because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is mostly indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a collection in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more capable problem. Call the mentors at Nalley Kia by dialing 7702885283 so you can describe the issues. Or lower your speed and bring your Kia to our certified mechanics as soon as feasible.

Kia Optima Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several common causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Other common reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, damaged oxygen sensor, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty emissions control part, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Kia Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as needed to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Kia issue was fixed.

Every Kia Optima was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its crucial systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is wrong nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Nalley Kia provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Highly Qualified Service professional.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most commonly misunderstood lights or indicators in your Kia Optima is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few different ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your Kia Optima. Some of these include ignition timing, controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of different things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as serious as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Kia Optima, contact Nalley Kia. Our Kia service department can help you learn what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is blinking. Contact Nalley Kia today!

Kia Optima Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Optima. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you useful knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, obvious and helpful vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of possible OBD codes, there are also hundreds of possible reasons for the light, including:

• Ignition system faults
• Old Battery
• Computer output circuit issues
• O2 Sensor
• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• Bad Spark Plugs
• Emissions controls issues
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• Transmission issues

This is why it is important for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call Nalley Kia at 7702885283 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out hastily by a certified Kia mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a active concern, you risk damaging your vehicle further by not repairing the issue honest away.

Kia Optima Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your Kia Optima starts flashing, that means that the problem needs hasty attention and your Kia should be brought in shortly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is thoughtful and if not taken care of shortly may result in exceptional damage to the car. This blinking light usually indicates a severe engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can quickly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can absolutely be the cause. A bad, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very expensive repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Kia hastily by calling 7702885283.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

Since any check engine code has its own level of severity, it is hard to predict how many miles you can commute with the warning light on. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Nalley Kia to help mean if your vehicle is safe to commute in or if we recommend a tow truck. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced.