Just in the last month I've had to deal with four different family members' vehicles. Some things I've fixed, others I was just asked for a second opinion.
- Sister's 2005 Grand Caravan throwing a misfire code and showing the oil pressure warning light. I cleared the misfire code which hasn't returned yet but it's due for a tune-up which probably isn't helping. Do I want to volunteer to replace the 100k sparkplugs in a V6 minivan? Not really. At least a $12 pressure sensor got rid of the oil warning light which is a known issue on these vans.
- Mother in law's 2006 Grand Caravan showing an ABS warning light. Not good. Haven't touched that one yet.
- Dad's 2005 Caravan is throwing a low EVAP pressure code. Dealer wants $1K+ to replace the gas tank(!) and all EVAP components because according to them, "it all comes together". Checking every rubber house coupling in the EVAP system for cracks found nothing, but two zip ties on two not-very-snug hoses on the EVAP canister and a new gas cap seems to have fixed it... so far. It also needs an oil pan gasket which I may tackle someday.
- Wife's 2002 Corolla now has a P0171 'system too lean' CEL. Great. Apparently this is a known issue on 2003+ cars with leaking plastic intake manifold gaskets, but hers is the old tubular metal intake so a new gasket may not resolve it but I bought one anyway since it should be an easy fix. Beyond the basics (vacuum leaks, torn intake hose), another known issue is the MAF sensor. Some report them failing on this generation Corolla after only 60k-70k miles (hers has 103k), and cleaning it is just a band-aid which sometimes makes it worse. Hello Amazon and a new Denso MAF on the way just to replace it outright and forget about it. We'll see if it helps but it needs a good diagnostic once-over to trace and check the vacuum hoses regardless. Not really my favorite thing to do.
Fun times. This is why I bought a new car recently.
- Sister's 2005 Grand Caravan throwing a misfire code and showing the oil pressure warning light. I cleared the misfire code which hasn't returned yet but it's due for a tune-up which probably isn't helping. Do I want to volunteer to replace the 100k sparkplugs in a V6 minivan? Not really. At least a $12 pressure sensor got rid of the oil warning light which is a known issue on these vans.
- Mother in law's 2006 Grand Caravan showing an ABS warning light. Not good. Haven't touched that one yet.
- Dad's 2005 Caravan is throwing a low EVAP pressure code. Dealer wants $1K+ to replace the gas tank(!) and all EVAP components because according to them, "it all comes together". Checking every rubber house coupling in the EVAP system for cracks found nothing, but two zip ties on two not-very-snug hoses on the EVAP canister and a new gas cap seems to have fixed it... so far. It also needs an oil pan gasket which I may tackle someday.
- Wife's 2002 Corolla now has a P0171 'system too lean' CEL. Great. Apparently this is a known issue on 2003+ cars with leaking plastic intake manifold gaskets, but hers is the old tubular metal intake so a new gasket may not resolve it but I bought one anyway since it should be an easy fix. Beyond the basics (vacuum leaks, torn intake hose), another known issue is the MAF sensor. Some report them failing on this generation Corolla after only 60k-70k miles (hers has 103k), and cleaning it is just a band-aid which sometimes makes it worse. Hello Amazon and a new Denso MAF on the way just to replace it outright and forget about it. We'll see if it helps but it needs a good diagnostic once-over to trace and check the vacuum hoses regardless. Not really my favorite thing to do.
Fun times. This is why I bought a new car recently.
