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Is it safe to drive your 2012 Honda Civic with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a risky issue and it is recommended to service your Honda Civic swiftly. This question is not very accepted 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 consistently indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the car, it could be an indication of a more risky problem. Call the consultants at Coggin Deland Honda by dialing 3862100089 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2012 Honda to our certified technicians as soon as achievable.

2012 Honda Civic Check Engine Light Flashing

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

Every 2012 Honda Civic was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its leading 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 strictly is awry nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Coggin Deland Honda provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Excessively Qualified Service technical.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most ordinarily misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2012 Honda Civic is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in some distinctive 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 2012 Honda Civic. Some of these include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a lot. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a assortment of different things. It can be as prevalent as your gas cap being loose or as relentless as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2012 Honda Civic, contact Coggin Deland Honda. Contact Coggin Deland Honda today! Our Honda service department can help you choose what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing.

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

The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Coggin Deland Honda to help mean if your vehicle is protected to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be interchanged. Since every check engine code has its own level of severity, it is not easy to predict how countless miles you can drive with the warning light on.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2012 Honda Civic?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as effortless 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 great repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow continually means something less serious but a twinkling check engine light implies that your vehicle’s engine is in serious trouble and service is necessary suddenly. If your check engine light is twinkling in your 2012 Honda Civic, we extremely endorse not to drive the vehicle and schedule Honda service today. Below is a list of the most routine reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2012 Honda Civic is every hefty. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did cooperative decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The value of a new one depends on the type of Honda you drive, but check our normal service coupons and specials.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, prevailing as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less direct when it comes to fuel economy. 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 damage to your catalytic converter and your 2012 Honda Civic's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to embrace the honorable variety of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are crucial for your 2012 Honda Civic. 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 your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or old, you will experience slight performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, preeminent to more expensive repairs.
  • One of the most prevailing and frequent cause is that your 2012 Honda Civic gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2012 Honda Civic 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 old 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 expensive. If your check engine light turns on urgently after you put gas in your 2012 Honda Civic, 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.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or distinct item can wreak havoc on your 2012 Honda Civic if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket elements and accessories can ditch the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even avert the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound favorite, bring your Civic to Honda and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed properly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM elements first place might cost a few bit more but could save you money from having to get slight work and damage caused by slight installation work corrected.
  • Your 2012 Honda Civic has a vacuum leak. Every Honda Civic has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety 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 barren out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to important heat or extreme quick.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2012 Honda Civic’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's work 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 Coggin Deland Honda offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Honda service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it serviced, your 2012 Honda Civic will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause distinct problems from overheating.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Honda Civic is what determines how much fuel is crucial to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to conclusive changes, like altitude. If your Honda Civic is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.

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 good news, Coggin Deland Honda offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help recommend the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not well tightened to a more efficient failure like a detrimental catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it good to get the correct code reading and diagnosis.

Check Engine Light Service 2012 Honda Civic

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Honda Civic and abruptly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Honda owners, your heart sinks a small because you have small idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the price 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 2012 Honda Civic checked as soon as detailed. Ignoring that warning could end up causing massive damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2012 Honda Civic's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t noble, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is mostly 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 Honda auto repair mechanics at Coggin Deland Honda. There are also a number of somewhat cheap 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 licensed experienced to mean the issue and repair it.

2012 Honda Civic Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that tiny light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear noble 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 Civic. There are hundreds of disparate codes that your check engine light can mean. While that sounds daunting, with a tiny patience, tackling large diagnostics will give you helpful knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is absolutely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, discernable and large vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of amiable OBD codes, there are also hundreds of amiable reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is compatible for someone who does not have a few of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a risky concern, you risk bad your car supplemental by not repairing the issue honest away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out swiftly by a certified Honda mechanic. Call Coggin Deland Honda at 3862100089 immediately or schedule your check engine light service online today!

2012 Honda Civic Check Engine Light

A flashing light implies that the problem is perilous and if not taken care of immediately may result in principal wear and tear to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your 2012 Honda Civic starts flashing, that means that the problem needs hasty attention and your Honda should be brought in immediately. This blinking light usually indicates a important engine misfire allowing unused fuel to be ditched into the exhaust system. There it can abruptly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is probable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exclusively be the cause. A bad, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive consultants at Coggin Deland Honda suddenly by calling 3862100089. 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.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2012 Honda Civic will commonly shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is repaired. 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 few 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 2012 Honda Civic 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 Coggin Deland Honda so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.