Main dealer garage for engine fault?

charlietheminxx

Looking for a bit of advice! I have an Opel which has been running well. It was fully serviced by an indy mechanic last May. This morning, an amber warning light came on and stayed on - the one for "Engine electronics, transmission electronics & immobiliser".

I'm in work, about a 15 minute drive to my nearest Opel garage. I'm much further from my usual mechanic. Would it be worth taking it into the Opel garage to see if they can diagnose the fault? Also does anyone know how much this testing usually costs?

All advice is greatly appreciated!

Alanstrainor

What car is it? (model, engine). What year is it? And have you noticed any other symptoms?

biko

Probably 60-90 for the error code scan but do let us know the actual number after you have spoken to the dealer over the phone.

An amber light isn't critical so you can drive car to your regular mechanic.

charlietheminxx

It's a 2005 Tigra, 1.4 petrol engine. I noticed a minor electrical fault with it when I bought it about 18 months ago, but the garage I bought it from paid for the repairs. I haven't had any trouble with it since.

I drove it to work with no issues this morning but stopped up the road from the office to pick up some milk on my way in. When I got back into the car and started it up, the light came and stayed on. I didn't really drive it far enough to gauge if it felt any different from normal but I don't think it did.

Do you reckon it would be ok on the motorway this evening? I tend to err on the side of caution with these things.

charlietheminxx

I spoke to the Opel garage nearby - about €100 for the assessment and they can't fit me in today. They don't charge for the assessment if you get the repair work done with them though.

The mechanic confirmed it should be ok to drive for now so I'm hoping my own mechanic can have a look this evening.

zilog_jones

Any competent mechanic should have diagnostics equipment which can read the fault codes for most cars - no need to go to a main dealer for this. You can even get an OBD-II scanner yourself for less than €100.

charlietheminxx

Thanks for the advice guys. I've brought it out for a spin and it's driving fine, the light has gone off, but I'm leaving it with my mechanic in the morning just to be on the safe side.

biko

Often, not always, error codes are stored in the car computer.
So even if light is off mech should be able to pull it and tell you what happened.

charlietheminxx

That's what I'm hoping. Fingers crossed it's a small issue that's easily resolved.

Atlantic Dawn

Check the oil first to see level is correct. Have you noticed the car running any rougher or harder to accelerate? Rough running could be a sign of a faulty coil pack.

Could be a hole in the exhaust or faulty oxygen sensor in the exhaust triggering it if it appears otherwise fine while driving.

Without the scan of the diagnostics it's really guess work.

charlietheminxx

Just an update, it was an accelerator sensor fault. All sorted now.... and for far less than Opel would have charged me just to assess it! Thank you to everyone for your advice.