the gas cap thing is a known issue on every car made, it's part of the OBD-II system (diagnostics).

A CEL could be anything from a loose gas cap to $$$$$$, you can't know til you have a competent tech read all codes and tell you what they could mean (they point to avenues of analysis, not definitive diagnoses).

I'd Carmax it if you have doubts/ once you get it checked.

Carmax. They will give you a fair price for it. Might not be blue book but if it's got mechanical problems then it's probably not worth that much. Typically carmax gives you the wholesale price on cars so you might want to check what that is.

Unhook the battery, clean the car up, re-connect the battery and drive directly to carmax before the light comes back on. Solved

Our Sienna did the same. My DH tried several fixes (totaling about $500) and it still comes on. He doesn't want to put any more money in it.

I'm sorry this doesn't answer your question though.

CHeck engine light can also be transmission, ours was.

Anonymous wrote:So I have a Toyota Sienna that I need to sell in order to get a replacement car. But the check engine light just came on. I really don't want to fix it! It's worth blue book $6000 without any mechanical problems, but I know I won't get that. Any suggestions on how to sell it? Carmax? I'm a little nervous about selling it via Craigslist or something like that.

Check engine light could easily just be a gasket or something to do with your gas cap.

Any buyer is going to ask to take the car to a mechanic for an inspection anyway so you might as well know what's what with your car.

When I was in this situation a few years back I listed my Volvo wagon for $3,800 when KBB said it was worth $5,500. I also disclosed known repairs needed totalling about $1,200. Figured the differential was a truer market value and compensation for the new buyer's time to fix the things that were wrong. I sold it without a problem.

Our check engine light comes on constantly -- some emissions issue that our mechianic said we didn't need to fix.

We just drive into Sears and ask the guy to plug in his machine and turn it off. No charge.

Anonymous wrote:I had a car where the engine light would come on if I didn't tighten the gas cap tight enough.

If you're getting the replacement car from a dealer, wait and see what they offer you for your trade-in. Ours was more than $1000 higher that what CarMax offered.

Yep, my Sienna did this to me too. It's a known issue.

get a basic fix to get the engine light off, otherwise sell it to carmax, they take any car (they'd even take it if the light was on but you'd probably get less).

Check engine light is usually something in the emissions system, and probably isn't too expensive. I'd get it fixed and then take it to CarMax.

You're not going to get as much money as possible with the check engine light on. Take it to a shop and find out the problem. Or, take it to one of the auto stores that has a code reader that they loan out and get the code.

Well, I would take it to a mechanic except I know there are other obvious things wrong with it that would take too much money to fix. Honestly, I'd just like to get rid of it and get as much $ as possible.

I had a car where the engine light would come on if I didn't tighten the gas cap tight enough.

If you're getting the replacement car from a dealer, wait and see what they offer you for your trade-in. Ours was more than $1000 higher that what CarMax offered.

Why don't you take it to a mechanic and find out what's wrong? It could be a minor problem, like a wire, that costs $30 to fix.

So I have a Toyota Sienna that I need to sell in order to get a replacement car. But the check engine light just came on. I really don't want to fix it! It's worth blue book $6000 without any mechanical problems, but I know I won't get that. Any suggestions on how to sell it? Carmax? I'm a little nervous about selling it via Craigslist or something like that.