JoshuaKaiser.com Joshua Kaiser's Blog

Scion Xb Madness

So a couple of days ago I got into the car and the VSC, Trac Off, and Check Engine lights all came on at once.  I checked my manual and it said (gasp) take it to the dealer.  I took it in today and they told me that they wanted $103 just to hook it up to the computer and read the codes.  That's not cool with me.  Needless to say I didn't let them do anything and decided to do some investigation of my own.

As it turns out, one of the most common causes of this problem is the gas cap!  A lose or damaged gas cap causes issues with the pressure in the fuel system and voila - you're stuck paying a dealership a hundred bucks to tighten the gas cap and reset your onboard computer.  I check my gas cap and sure enough, I gave it about a quater turn before it finally clicked.  Then I noticed writing on the gas cap.  It actually says to turn it until it clicks because a lose gas cap can make the check engine lights come on.  Paint me stupid.

With a freshly tightened gas cap, I disconnected the battery cable and let the onboard computer die.  Sure enough, I turned it back on and no trouble indicators.  I let the engine run for a while and things seem to be working.  Crazy.