The most feared thing in car communities is the check engine light. When people are seeing this problem, they are fearing about the replacement and repair cost of the engine. Because there can be very different causes of this problem. Also Buick check engine light is a very important problem that people are facing. Here, we created this article about the general causes and the fixes of the Buick check engine light problem that you are facing.
What is Buick Check Engine Light?
Check engine light is not a special feature for the Buick. Nearly all modern vehicles have check engine lights on the dashboard. The shape of the check engine light is like beloıw.
If this light is opened while you are running your car, you can understand that there can be a problematic issue with your engine. Because, a modern car has an ECU system or Engine Control Unit that controls and adjusts all the electromechanical processes such as ignition of the fuel, injection of the fuel, and adjustment of the other moving parts. And vehicles are doing it according to the inputs that are coming from different sensors.
So, the ECU system can easily know which part is problematic and does not work as intended. And send these dashboard signals so that you can understand that there is a problem.
How Does the Check Engine Light On?
We need to state that there are different check engine light conditions that you need to consider about the Buick cars. Because there are different kinds of reasons why the check engine light is on in your car. And you need to consider this problem thoroughly. These are certain conditions that you can face with your Buick.
- Constantly on and there is no performance loss or other irregular thing: While you are driving your Buick, the check engine light can be constantly on. And you do not feel any performance loss or any kind of engine stalling and sound coming from your car. In this case, you need to bring your Buick to a service to check why the check engine light is on.
- Constantly on and there is a strange performance loss/sound/stalling: You see that the check engine light is on, and there is a performance loss, strange sounds coming from the engine, and very bad stalling. So, you need to consider that there can be a problem with the important engine parts such as sensors, electrical parts, and others. And you need an immediate check and diagnosis for the problem. To prevent damage, you can tow your car or slowly drive to the nearest service.
- Check engine light is blinking: This means, there is a big problem with your engine. You need to pull over to a safe place and call a tow truck to bring your car to the nearest Buick service.
Common Causes of the Buick Check Engine Light
There are different causes of the check engine light of the Buick. If you know the general problems and the symptoms, you can easily understand if there is a problem with these parts.
Loose Gas Cap
You check the engine light can on because of this very basic problem that you are facing. It is a very basic problem that you only need to tighten the gas cap of your car. You can solve this problem like this and we wish that the problem that you have like this one 🙂
The gas cap can seem a very basic part. But it is very important that it prevents the bad air comes inside the fuel tank. And also, maintains the required pressure inside the fuel tank. So, if there is a problem with an old and ruptured gas cap, the check engine light will be on.
Check the gas cap, clean it, and see if the light goes off. And if you can not solve the problem, you can buy a new one. The aftermarket gas caps for Buick are around $20-30.
Aftermarket Items Cause Such Problems
In engine systems, the aftermarket parts and other equipment can ignite the check engine light in Buick. Aftermarket applications are generally cheaper systems manufactured by third parties. And lots of people are changing the original parts with aftermarket parts to solve the problems with their cars and engines in a cheaper way.
But after a while, you can have a problem with these aftermarket parts. They can work very well when they are installed first. But they can be problematic part after a while because they incompatible with the other parts.
In this case, you need to bring your Buick to the services and change this aftermarket part with the original OEM.
Buick Vacuum System Problem
Also, you can have problems with the vacuum system of the Buick engine. The vacuum system in these cars increases the engine performance and their general performance. And there can be problematic issues with the vacuum hoses of the engine.
You need to bring your car to an experienced mechanic or other people dealing with this thing. Engine performance loss is one of the most common symptoms of the vacuum system problem that you are experiencing with your engine.
Problems with Battery
If you try to start your engine and your engine does not start. Because the battery is drained. You may leave your car lights open or something an electrical system that drains your battery. Check engine light can be on because of the low or drained battery.
The battery is a very vital part of a car that makes all the electric applications such as spark plugs, engine starter motors, and so on. And if your battery is drained, you can not start the car.
It will be better to refill your battery or run your car with the help of another battery from another car. Once you run the car, the battery of your car will be refilled with the recharging system.
Or you can run your car by pushing with the help of several people. And try to run the engine while your car is moving. And the battery will start refilled with the running engine.
Or there can be a technical problem with your battery and you need to change it with a new one. The general prices of the Buick batteries are around $200-300 according to the quality and brand of the battery.
Issues with Mass Air Flow Sensor
The general duty of the mass air flow sensor is to measure the airflow that comes to the intake manifold. According to the mass airflow that comes, the ECU system of the car adjusts the flow of fuel to the engine. And the optimum level of fuel is adjusted according to the mass airflow that comes to the engine cylinders.
And if there is a problem with the mass airflow, the check engine light will be on. You can feel this problem as an engineer’s performance loss. Because ECU can not adjust the flow of fuel according to the optimum level. And also you will feel it with increased gas expenses and decreased total mileage.
The price of the Buick mass air flow sensor is high if we compare it with the other systems. One of these sensors is around $150-200. And you need to pay for the replacement labor cost of around $50-100. The mass airflow sensor is not a thing that you can easily replace with the new one.
Catalytic Converter Faults
Also, your Buick car has a catalytic converter problem. The catalytic converter is a very important part of the exhaust system of your engine. It converts hazardous gases into less hazardous ones for the environment. With a bad catalytic converter, your car will not pass the emission tests. So, you need to check and solve the problems with your catalytic converters.
In most of the people overlook the problems with their catalytic converters. Because they are not a critical part of the running engine. It is partly about emissions. But there can be clogged areas on the catalytic converter that make it much more harder to expel the exhaust fumes from the engine. In this case, the performance of the engine will drop and even stalls can happen.
And also, you need to take care of the environment if there are faults with the catalytic converter of your Buick car.
The replacement of the catalytic converter is not an easy thing that you can do by yourself. A mechanic must take care of this part. And you can find aftermarket catalytic converters for Buick for around $150-200. And also if you replace it with an original part, the price can be up to $300. Also, add the labor cost for this replacement is around $50-100.
O2 Sensor Problems
The oxygen sensor is a very vital part of the car. It is placed in the exhaust system and sends information about the level of oxygen in the exhaust fumes. And sends this information to the ECU system of the car. And the ECU adjusts the level of the fuel according to this information.
So if there is a problem with the O2 sensor of your car, you probably have a very important problem that you need to solve. The engine performance will drop and you will feel the engine stalling. Because ECU can not adjust the required fuel according to the O2 information.
If you want to replace the O2 sensor of your Buick car change between $150-200 including the labor costs. And if you think that you can attach the O2 sensor, you need to pay for the O2 sensor around $75-100.
After the replacement, the engine will take the power that it has the first time.
Problem with Spark Plugs
Also, you can have problems with the spark plugs in your engine if you are seeing the Buick check engine light. There are several causes for the spark plugs. You can feel the problem with the spark plug as the engine stall, hard to start the engine or the engine does not start.
A spark plug is a system that ignites the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders. The ignition takes place from the ignition coils. And, the sparking order is generally made with the distributor system.
There can be problems with the wiring between the distributor and the battery. So, you need to check if there is damaged or old wiring between these systems. Also, there can be a problem with the spark plugs themselves. So, you need to replace the spark plug with the new one.
Spark plugs are very basic systems and the replacement of the problematic spark plug is not a hard thing. The general prices of the spark plugs change between $10-25. And the replacement ıf them around $25 for labor costs.
Diagnosis the Problem
As you see above, you can get different kinds of symptoms and the same symptoms and you can have different problems with your engine. So, it is very important to know that you need to diagnose the root cause of the check engine light of a Buick car.
For basic problems such as loose caps, you can make the diagnosis. But for your engine parts, you need to bring your car to a mechanic. And they will check the ECU system with an OBD2 to find out the real cause of the problem.
Last Words on Buick Check Engine Light
These are the general and important points that you need to know about the Buick check engine light. And, you can assess whether you have a serious problem with your engine or not. And take important action to solve the problem that you have.
If you have additional comments or questions about the Buick check engine light problem that you are facing, please let us know below. Also, your experiences and feedbacks are very important on this topic.
You can find related articles about car maintenance on fmechanic.com!
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FAQs About Buick Check Engine Light
Check engine light means, you can have a problem with the electromechanical components of your car. So you need to check the general engine parts and you need to bring your Buick car to service if needed.
If the check engine light is on, and you are not feeling any performance loss, sound, or stalling from your engine, it can be safe to drive in that condition. But as soon as possible you need to find the root cause of the problem. But if your check engine light is flickering, you need to bring your car to the service immediately. It means you have a serious problem with your engine.
It changes according to the treatment that you applied. In some cases, for example, if you change one of the problematic sensors, you need to drive at least several miles to reset the ECU system according to the application. And sometimes, the check engine light will reset itself in a specific time period.
