QuestionMy Rav4 4x4 2005 has about 52,000 miles on it, I drive it about 100 miles a day. I know thats a lot of wear and tear but thats why we decided on a Rav4, b.c we thought it would last awhile. I am pretty good about the oil changes, though it is a little overdue and I plan on taking it in the AM to the dealership.
After a long drive straight on the interstate the engine light and the VSC TRAC light come on together. nothing is overheating so I drove it 10 more miles home.
what do you think is wrong and will it cost me an arm, leg, spleen, and kidney to fix? I need this vehicle for work and damn I have only had it 2 years. Not even close to finished paying on it. It seems to drive just fine. -p
AnswerWell maybe an arm and a leg but normally no other internal organs, the check engine light normally turns on because there is an emission control related malfuction, there are many causes so the first step is to pay the dealer the diagnostic fee and have them retreive the trouble codes that are stored in the onboard computer, the VSC and TRAC lights are turned on anytime the check engine light comes on because both of the systems are disabled at that time, there is probably nothing wrong with those systems, the root cause is the check engine light, most emission control system parts are covered under the factory warranty for 3yrs/50,000 miles and some for 8yrs/80,000 miles depending on what the problem is, if there is an autozone store within driving distance you can get the trouble codes retreived at no charge and then let me know what they are and then I can advise what the problem is and how to go about approaching the dealer with that information, try to get a printout of the codes, some other autoparts like kragen may also help with getting the codes, in any case if you need more help with this please don't hesitate to ask
