Please wait while the page loads...

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most typically misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2012 Ford Focus is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in some discrete ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a collection of things for your 2012 Ford Focus. Some of these include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of disparate things. It can be as routine as your gas cap being loose or as risky as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2012 Ford Focus, contact Coggin Ford Jacksonville. Contact Coggin Ford Jacksonville today! Our Ford service department can help you read what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2012 Ford Focus?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as apparent as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a hazardous problem that could cause hazardous damage to your engine and come with a big repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow typically means something fewer hazardous but a flashing check engine light expresses that your vehicle’s engine is in hazardous trouble and service is imperative instantly. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2012 Ford Focus, we extremely recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Ford service today. Below is a list of the most adequate reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your 2012 Ford Focus. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are damaging or departed, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, large to more fancy repairs.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be interchanged. The mass airflow sensor in your Ford Focus is what determines how much fuel is needed to run your engine efficiently by measuring the jettison of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to decisive changes, like altitude. If your Ford Focus is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a precipitous change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a damaging mass airflow sensor.
  • The battery is meager or dead. The battery in your 2012 Ford Focus is every important. Without a vehicle battery, your vehicle won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s vehicle batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't truly require maintenance. The cost of a new one depends on the type of Ford you drive, but check our actual service coupons and specials.
  • Your catalytic converter is damaging or going damaging. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2012 Ford Focus’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is customarily caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Coggin Ford Jacksonville offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Ford service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2012 Ford Focus will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your vehicle may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause supplemental problems from overheating.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or supplemental item can wreak havoc on your 2012 Ford Focus if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even avoid the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound commonplace, bring your Focus to Ford and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed properly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a few bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • Your 2012 Ford Focus has a vacuum leak. Every Ford Focus has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps decrease harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can parched out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to large heat or extreme cold.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be interchanged. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the jettison of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be fewer persuasive when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2012 Ford Focus's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to indicate the correct mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A damaging O2 sensor can also cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.
  • One of the most common and plentiful cause is that your 2012 Ford Focus gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2012 Ford Focus serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a damaging fuel cap? If your gas cap is departed or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't fancy. If your check engine light turns on immediately after you put gas in your 2012 Ford Focus, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.

2012 Ford Focus Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless feasible causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are bountiful conscious causes including something as uncomplicated as a loose gas cap. Alternative conscious reasons for a Check Engine Light are damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, dirty mass airflow sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Ford Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as fundamental to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Ford issue was serviced.

Every 2012 Ford Focus was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the automobile on its basic systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the mechanical control company. If the mechanical control company detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what strictly is untrue nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Coggin Ford Jacksonville provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Notably Qualified Service competent.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy subsequently. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. If you check engine light is flashing, we suggest that you pull over and contact Coggin Ford Jacksonville to help choose if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we suggest a tow truck.

2012 Ford Focus Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2012 Ford Focus starts flashing, that means that the problem needs urgent attention and your Ford should be brought in rapidly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is strict and if not taken care of rapidly may result in first-rate damage to the vehicle. This blinking light usually indicates a draconian engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can quickly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where wear and tear is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can absolutely be the cause. A bad, former or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very expensive repair. If your check engine light is glaring, please contact our squad of automotive advisors at Coggin Ford Jacksonville suddenly by calling 9047478996.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more threatening failure like a damaging catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it admirable to get the suitable code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is typically between $88 and $111. The admirable news, Coggin Ford Jacksonville offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help prefer the cause of your check engine light.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2012 Ford Focus will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going functional, and you did a few of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2012 Ford Focus light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Coggin Ford Jacksonville so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Check Engine Light Service 2012 Ford Focus

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Ford Focus and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Ford owners, your heart sinks a microscopic because you have microscopic idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2012 Ford Focus checked as soon as conceivable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to fancy engine components.

When your 2012 Ford Focus's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t relevant, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is generally labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Ford auto repair mechanics at Coggin Ford Jacksonville. There are also a number of rather cheap code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you choose that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to read the issue and repair it.

2012 Ford Focus Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear proper away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Focus. There are hundreds of assorted codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling essential diagnostics will give you good knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is definitely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, evident and good vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of ready for use OBD codes, there are also hundreds of ready for use reasons for the light, including:

  • Emissions controls issues
  • Transmission issues
  • Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
  • Ignition system faults
  • Computer output circuit issues
  • Fuel and air metering systems problems
  • Old Battery
  • O2 Sensor
  • Bad Spark Plugs

This is why it is hefty for someone who does not have a few of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out hastily by a certified Ford mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a remarkable concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue good away. Call Coggin Ford Jacksonville at 9047478996 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!

Is it safe to drive your 2012 Ford Focus with the check engine light on?

This question is not very easy because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is customarily indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more frightful problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a frightful issue and it is recommended to service your Ford Focus rapidly. Call the experts at Coggin Ford Jacksonville by dialing 9047478996 so you can describe the issues. Or cut down your speed and bring your 2012 Ford to our certified mechanics as soon as practical.