QuestionQUESTION: I own a 2000 Toyota Camry and I have been driving it for more than a month after the "Check Engine Light" came up. Today, suddenly i got a bothering noise from the engine. And tonight, the car will not start at all. The engine cranks and when the car is just about to be ignited it just would not start. All other things work fine, such as radio, lights, power windows and all the lights on the dash board (battery, engine, etc) show up. What could be the problem? What should I do?
ANSWER: The first thing to do is to find out why the check engine light came on, a scanner or code reader should be connected to the car's computer to read the trouble codes, since the car is not driveable it may have to be towed to the dealer or a repair shop that can do this unless you can locate someone that is willing to come to your location to check the codes,then you can post a follow up for me and I can go from there.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response.. Yes i took your advice and borrowed a
OBD2 scanner and the result told me that there was one problem: code
"P0401". My friend took a look at my car and told me it might have to do with
a fuel pump or a fuel filter... Anyways, let me know what i should do next.
Thanks a lot!
AnswerThat code is related to the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system which is emission control related and has nothing to do with the engine not starting. It's possible that the timing belt failed because of a water pump failure, this may be the noise, the water pump is driven off the timing belt and if the water pump fails then the timing belt will also fail. I would recommend removing the top plastic timing cover for inspection of the timing belt and the water pump.
