We just bought a 2001 aurora with 120,000 miles V-8 Fri. for our teen son. We bought it from a dealer with no warranty. My husband thought it looked like it did not have oil so all he had at home was 10W so he put a little of that in the car. I drove approx. 1/2 mile down the road and the check engine light came on. Came back home and husband took the car to the oil changing place and they said it was full with fresh new oil, husband had them drain it and refill with 5W, that is what it says it recommends. The check engine light is still on. Do we have to take it to a dealer to find out why, is there some codes we don''''t know about to fix ourselves? I am worried that we just paid $6,000 for a car and the engine light is on the second day. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

The 10W oil did not cause the check engine light. The engine does not have a sensor that tells it what weight of oil you put in.


I would take it back to the dealer you bought it from, and have them scan it. Make them give you the actual codes the scan tool shows, not just what the codes mean. I would also not pay for it, since you just bought the car a few days ago. If they try to charge you, take the car to Autozone or a similar car parts place. Most of them will scan the car for you for free.


Personally, I never go to the dealer for car maintenance, as they tend to be far overpriced compared to a normal auto repair shop.
Also, there are many things you can fix yourself in your own driveway, with just a little knowledge, and help from others on this or other forums.


Even though you bought the car with no warranty, there still might be laws in your state about being able to return the car within a certain time period, if you decide you want to do that.


When you get the codes, post them here, we''ll help you out.

 

The dealer we bought the car from is a small one that does not do repairs so I can just take the car to AutoZone what do they scan to find the code? All I see is the engine light on in the car no codes. I hate the thought of just buying my son a car with trouble. I was hoping it was the oil since that was the only thing we had touched no luck there Thanks for letting me know. The car drives great and the light was not on when we test drove it.
Thanks so much for your help!

 

Autozone will have a scan tool, like a small handheld computer, that they can plug into the car, which will read the codes. I believe on the Aurora the plugin is under the dash, but they will know where to plug it in. It should only take about 10 minutes max.


Other car parts places will also scan for you, if there is no Autozone in your area. Write the codes down, so you can post them. They will be a letter followed by 3 or 4 numbers, like this: P0141


The check engine light illuminates when a code has been stored in the engine computer. It is telling you to go get it scanned, which is the only way to find out what the code is, you will not be able to see the code without the scan tool.

 

Thanks I will have it scanned tomorrow and post it tomorrow evening for you to help me see what is wrong. I hope it''s nothing major!
Thanks again,
Shannon

 

Hmm I guess for once it would be easier to figure these things out on an older car... But that''s just me=)
Be well!
Travis

 

Had the car scanned and the transmission was slipping in 3 places so had it rebuilt. Thanks for the advice on having it scanned.

 

I hope you got at least some $$ from the dealer, even though you bought the car with no warranty. Driving 1/2 mile before the tranny started going out is ridiculous.


Not to suggest anything, but it is possible to use a scanner to clear codes. Depending on what failure the code represents, it may not light the check engine light again for a day or two. I wonder if the dealer knows this?