I drive a 2005 HCH with 48,500 miles on it. My daily commute is 20 miles round trip, and I just had an oil change done at the dealership a few weeks ago. This morning on my way to work, the check engine light came on (steady, not blinking). I'm not noticing any problems with the car, and the last time I gassed up was right after the oil change, so I don't think it's a loose gas cap. Should I take it back to the dealership, or should I drive it a few more days to see if the problem was the gas cap?

I hate to take it to the dealership if there's not a problem. Plus, I live alone, so dropping off and being without a car is a real hardship.

My opinion is that a check engine light should be a reason to setup an appointment ASAP with the service department.
One or more codes that may be present in the stream may indicate something that has failed or is malfunctioning to some degree - sometimes it is serious, sometimes not so serious. The only way to be sure and to avoid major expenses and downtime is to take it in ASAP.

On a side note: I've seen reports of HCH gen 1 developing O2 sensor problems before, at roughly 50K. This type of problem produces a Check Engine light as well.

Cheers;

MSantos

That's what I was thinking. I don't think it'll cause too much harm to wait until tomorrow night to drop it off at the dealership, then they can look it over Saturday morning. How much does getting an O2 sensor replaced run?

Dealerships can prioritize you and it does not take long for them to check the codes. You can wait for the car back and their advise on the potential issue.

The time could be well worth the potential "money" if something is amuck.

Proactive is better than Reactive.

Cheers!

Or go to your local Autozone - they'll read the set codes for free. I have a weird code (0110- Air intake temp malfunction) set on my '04 HCH occasionally - like once a year. The Check Engine light goes off after a day or two. The local Honda Stealer wanted me to make an appointment - earliest TWO WEEKS! - and then charge me $80/hr just to read the codes! Screw that.

Just called the dealership, and they said if I drop it off Friday night, they should be able to get to it on Saturday. Considering I leave the house at 6:30am and don't get home until 6:30pm each day, the dealership is within walking distance of my home, and there's no Autozone close by, this seems to be the best option. Hopefully it won't be raining tomorrow.

I have also gone to Autozone to have them check the codes. As mentioned above, they do this for free. It would at least give you an idea of what is happening.

I stopped by the dealership last night, and they hooked up the code reader with no waiting. The guy turned off the light, and he said if it came on again, it was probably a faulty oxygen sensor, as msantos suggested. I drove it around some today, and no light so far.

Props to the dealership (O'Donnell Honda), by the way. They gave me a bit of grief for bringing it in without an appointment, but they didn't charge me. The guy said if the problem turns out to be an O2 sensor, it'll run around $300 to get it fixed.

Has your warranty run out yet? It should still be covered, as you have low milage, under 50,000 miles.You may want to check into this.

Isn't the warranty 35,000 miles?