Hi guys,
I am a almost complete newbie when it comes to car mechanics. So I saw my check engine light came on last night and panicked because I never saw that light before. My car is a 2006 Toyota Corolla with 130k miles. This morning I took my car to Auto Zone cuz I was told they do free checkups on this. They checked and got code "P0171" which stands for "System Too Lean (A/F, Bank 1)" and they told me it's cuz of my ECM (engine control module) and told me to replace it.
So then I did some research and apparently it takes a long time for me to get a replacement sent over and it cost me, so I just tried to reset the ECM to see if it works. I managed to locate the 2 ECM fuses in the fuse box and unplugged those for 15 min. Put those back in and turned car back on and my check engine light was on.
Honestly, my car is running fine and I don't see no issues with it, other than that I saw a nasty white lump on top of the terminal on my battery, which I plan to clean up in the morning using some warm water and baking soda. Then I plan to unplug the battery and try to reset ECM that way.
I just want to toss it outta here to get your opinions. Am I doing the right things? Any better things I could do? Your advice is much appreciated.
@Justin Shephard you are totally right. Took it to my local mechanic today and he told me it's cuz my mass air flow sensor got dirty so he cleaned it in 30 min and charged me $55 to get rid of the light. The Auto Zone dude was trying to sell me an ECU for hundreds of bucks. These people are full of crap and you are better off finding a mechanic or learning more about cars like what I am about to do for this new year so you can DIY the crap out of this.
Thanks for the update. Seriously, there are unscrupulous folks out there, and it’s good to have this forum to bounce ideas off of. I’m glad it worked out for you.
They checked and got code "P0171" which stands for "System Too Lean (A/F, Bank 1)" and they told me it's cuz of my ECM (engine control module) and told me to replace it.
Auto Parts stores are there to sell you parts, not give you information on how to repair cars. They don't know how to repair cars, at all. Forewarned is forearmed.
Exactly. If they possessed the skills to fix cars, they would be doing that, not slinging parts for minimum wage.
they told me it's cuz of my ECM
That person is not only clueless, but dangerous. Unlike you , who will correctly say "I don't know", they are giving bad advice.
my car is running fine and I don't see no issues with it,
well as a newbie you don't know what to look for. A lean running engine is not fine.
I did some research
Research what the car is telling you, not the parts jockey. Try here:
https://www.obd-codes.com/p0171
using some warm water and baking soda.
be careful with the baking soda. Usually boiling hot water is all you need.
