Suzuki Gran Vitara engine light fault?

Bubblefett

Hi, I've an 02 Suzuki Grand Vitara, it's the 1.6 engine model.
About two years after I bought it the engine light came on for the first time. I brought it straight to a garage that held onto it for the week, did a load of scans and eventually gave it back saying the light just turned off itself and they couldn't find a problem (and charged me 500 for this info, I never used them again).

Since then the engine light turns on every 4 or 5 months for about 24hours, then turns off. The car was serviced in October (my new garage is fantastic) and it was problem free. I even got them to check it out last month because I thought it was leaking but they said it was fine and there had been a different car parked in my space outside my house that had leaked.

Two weeks ago the light turned on and hasn't turned off since (though the car has only been driven for 1 of those weeks as I was ill). Think I'll have to bring it into the garage on monday.I'm afraid I'm now dealing with an actual problem now and not just a faulty light

I don't know if anyone can offer me any advice on things to check? Or is it possible to buy one of those scanners you hook up to the car that tells you the fault? Might be a good thing to own, especially if my light is going to keep acting up.

johnayo

bubblefett wrote: »

Hi, I've an 02 Suzuki Grand Vitara, it's the 1.6 engine model.
About two years after I bought it the engine light came on for the first time. I brought it straight to a garage that held onto it for the week, did a load of scans and eventually gave it back saying the light just turned off itself and they couldn't find a problem (and charged me 500 for this info, I never used them again).

Since then the engine light turns on every 4 or 5 months for about 24hours, then turns off. The car was serviced in October (my new garage is fantastic) and it was problem free. I even got them to check it out last month because I thought it was leaking but they said it was fine and there had been a different car parked in my space outside my house that had leaked.

Two weeks ago the light turned on and hasn't turned off since (though the car has only been driven for 1 of those weeks as I was ill). Think I'll have to bring it into the garage on monday.I'm afraid I'm now dealing with an actual problem now and not just a faulty light

I don't know if anyone can offer me any advice on things to check? Or is it possible to buy one of those scanners you hook up to the car that tells you the fault? Might be a good thing to own, especially if my light is going to keep acting up.

First things first. If the engine management light came on, it will have stored a trouble code and your mechanic will be able to read this on a diagnostic scanner.
The code in itself is only a guideline but it is good starting point. A good tech with the right diagnostic equipment is who you need here.

Bubblefett

johnayo wrote: »

First things first. If the engine management light came on, it will have stored a trouble code and your mechanic will be able to read this on a diagnostic scanner.
The code in itself is only a guideline but it is good starting point. A good tech with the right diagnostic equipment is who you need here.

Thank you for the information! I'll book him in asap to the garage then, hopefully it won't be to bad

101sean

If the light comes on and the engine still runs without any other problems showing, it's unlikely to be serious or it would go into limp mode. It could be an intermittent fault being logged in the past that has now turned in to a constant fault, possibly a simple sensor failure.

The first garage well and truly ripped you off and were obviously clueless.

As johnayo says, any mechanic with a code reader and who can interpret live readings should be able to work it out.

Getting your own generic or specific code reader can help you save money with the assistance of specialist forums. Can make you panic though unless you a bit knowledgeable, sort of like self diagnosing a heart attack when you only have indigestion!

Bubblefett

101sean wrote: »

If the light comes on and the engine still runs without any other problems showing, it's unlikely to be serious or it would go into limp mode. It could be an intermittent fault being logged in the past that has now turned in to a constant fault, possibly a simple sensor failure.

The first garage well and truly ripped you off and were obviously clueless.

As johnayo says, any mechanic with a code reader and who can interpret live readings should be able to work it out.

Getting your own generic or specific code reader can help you save money with the assistance of specialist forums. Can make you panic though unless you a bit knowledgeable, sort of like self diagnosing a heart attack when you only have indigestion!

Thank you for the help, it's been driving perfectly so hopefully it will be something straightforward enough, fingers crossed! I trust my new garage anyway so shouldn't have a repeat of the first time.
You make a good point about the code reader, it'll probably cause me more stress in the long run getting one.