So about 500 miles after I first purchased the car, the service engine soon light came on. I took it to autozone and ran the codes, and it came up as probably being an O2 sensor or possibly a cat. Being busy and slightly cash strapped (who isnt nowadays) I let it be and just became accustomed to it being on. However, today while I was driving home from the grocery store I noticed that it was no longer on. The SES light had been on for almost 12,000 miles and just up and decided to shut off. And I know its not burnt out because it does show up if you keep it in ACC. However as soon as you turn the key over it disappears. As you can imagine Im excited that I no longer have to stare at the light, but was just wondering what could make it do this all of a sudden?

 

hmmm weird i wish it would happen to me though lol...mine has been on for awhile

 

haha just run it for, literally, almost a year and it should switch off....I almost kinda miss the irratating glow that it produced at night, the inside of my car is so much darker now hahaha jk, im thrilled its gone

 

Have you tried pulling codes again to verify? The incredible self fixing O2 sensor...

 

No not yet, it just happened on my way back from the grocerry store a few hours ago and I havent had a chance to run back out to check it. I'll probably do that when Im out around town tomorrow

 

its going to come back on, when my 02 sim went bad the ses would be on forever, then shut off, just to return a few days later..

 

damn well thanks for the heads up, I guess I should probably get it fixed sometime soon haha

 

Mine does the same thing. Stays on for a long time, then randomly turns off. Previous owner warned me about the famous O2 sensor issue, I just pull the codes every so often to be sure and ignore it.

I feel bad for those people that fail inspections due to a 'check engine' or SES light. Fortunately I live in an area that doesn't check that.

 

about how long does it take for it to come back on?

 

hahaha same retard-ness with my car. CEL came on: bad O2 (when i was going at 80mph).....few days later it goes away......a week or so later it comes back on (@ 80ish mph again).....waiting for it go away lol
Is it the O2 sensor or just the sensor getting clogged up or something....the world may never know

 

haha the one downside to our cars...way to many sensors and s***....I love how mine was on for 12,000 miles and decide to take a vaca apparently....its been three days and has yet to come back on.....Im keeping my fingers crossed

 

Mine has been comming on and off for about 3 months. Im guessing yours is a P0430 or P0420 code?

If thats your code Its about a $1400 fix at the dealer. Im fixing mine by buying cattman headers and o2 sim's. It was the less expencive way.

 

PO430 code, and the light just came back on today when I was driving back from the dealer on the bright side might be adding a '05 FX35 to the family so the light coming back on didnt make me to upset

 

Was going to say, O2 sensor is a pretty common problem and a pretty easy and cheap fix ... believe my O2 sensor cost around $150 or so, and isn't a terribly difficult replacement. Can't remember which bank it was though so I could be off base. I have only had one go bad.

As for e-tests, fortunately the one I just went to for mine here in Albuquerque didn't even fail me for gas cap, just hooked up a spare gas cap and made me promise to buy a new one. He also said I was blowing smoke from the tailpipe, but I'm fairly sure that it was steam. It's funny though - they don't fail you necessarily for the SES light, they actually hook into the brain of the car and scan for whether there are problems.

 

Im not too nervous about emissions yet, my max isnt due to be tested until March 2010 so I've got a decent amount of time to come up with a fix for the light. Thanks for the help everyone, Im hoping the O2 sensor will solve the problem