check engine light - reading codes?

[delbo21]

so the check engine light came on in my 2001 echo (in australia - yaris everywhere else), 1.3 manual.

the car seems to be running fine, but it's strange that the light came on about 5km after i changed the oil. the oil level seems fine and i used synthetic multigrade.

can you read the codes on this model without buying a scan tool (the repair manual i have, not an official toyota one, doesn't seem to mention reading the codes at all). if not, does anyone know the best place to order one?

TIA

[bronsin]

Not living in Austrailia I would not know where to get one. But do a google search and you should find one easily enough. Dont worry about spending a lot of money the cheapest should work fine. All you want to know is the codes anyway thats what its for.

Read the code and tell us what it is and we will go from there.

Yes its interesting it threw a code shortly after you did something. You didnt mess with anything else under the hood while changing the oil? It might be relevant and it might not.

[Lil Abner]

Here in the states, our check engine light starts to flash during start-up as we get close to needed to change the oil (5,000 miles). Then the light stays on solid. I just reset the light since I also run synthetic and run longer between changes.

See if you can find a car parts dealer that will read your code for free. Hopefully it's not a code, but just a service light (to try to get you into the dealer).

On the newer Yaris, to reset the light, turn the key on. Go to the "A" odometer. Turn off the key. Push and hold the odometer button, turning on the key on (still holding the button). The numbers turn to dashes, and the dashes start to disappear like a count-down. Once done, the numbers return, and you're set. On other Toyota's, you follow the same procedure, but leave the odometer in the normal odometer screen.

[Solid T D]

Out here in the states, one can go to a local Autozone and they will pull out their scan tool and bring up the codes for free. At this point, one would have to find out what those codes mean, since it's only a cheap 50 buck scan tool, and not the 1.5k diagnostic tool.