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What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most naturally misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2014 BMW 525i is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few diversified 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 variety of things for your 2014 BMW 525i. 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 back-up things. It can be as easy as your gas cap being loose or as unsafe as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2014 BMW 525i, contact Richmond BMW Midlothian. Our BMW service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is shining. Contact Richmond BMW Midlothian today!

Check Engine Light Service 2014 BMW 525i

What do you do when you’re driving along in your BMW 525i and instantly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most BMW 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 estimate of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t represent 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 2014 BMW 525i checked as soon as likely. Ignoring that warning could end up causing extraordinary damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2014 BMW 525i's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electrical control system that it can’t good, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is commonly 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 inspect tool that is used by our BMW auto repair mechanics at Richmond BMW Midlothian. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you select that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to favor the issue and repair it.

2014 BMW 525i Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2014 BMW 525i starts glaring, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your BMW should be brought in swiftly. A glaring light indicates that the problem is dangerous and if not taken care of swiftly may result in considerable damage to the vehicle. This blinking light commonly expresses a scrupulous engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can instantly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is conceivable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can definitely 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 tremendously costly repair. If your check engine light is shining, please contact our department of automotive experts at Richmond BMW Midlothian expeditiously by calling 8043618758.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2014 BMW 525i?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as straightforward as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a unsafe problem that could cause unsafe damage to your engine and come with a astonishing repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow naturally means something less unsafe but a blinking check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in unsafe trouble and service is decisive hastily. If your check engine light is blinking in your 2014 BMW 525i, we immensely advocate not to drive the vehicle and schedule BMW service today. Below is a list of the most daily reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your BMW 525i is what determines how much fuel is needed to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to actual changes, like altitude. If your BMW 525i is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a immediate change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your 2014 BMW 525i. 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 transport the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or classic, 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, primary to more expensive repairs.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2014 BMW 525i is every intense. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of BMW you travel to work, but check our acknowledged service coupons and specials.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, common as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less efficient 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 2014 BMW 525i's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to embrace the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or added item can wreak havoc on your 2014 BMW 525i if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even stop the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound acknowledged, bring your 525i to BMW and have our company of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, particularly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts original place might cost a microscopic bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • One of the most daily and innumerable cause is that your 2014 BMW 525i gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2014 BMW 525i 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 bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is classic 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 expensive. If your check engine light turns on shortly after you put gas in your 2014 BMW 525i, original thing you should check is to make fearless the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your 2014 BMW 525i has a vacuum leak. Every BMW 525i has a vacuum system that performs a expanded collection of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower 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 arid out and crack, particularly if they’re exposed to important heat or extreme cold.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2014 BMW 525i’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 usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Richmond BMW Midlothian offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every BMW service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it revamped, your 2014 BMW 525i will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause added problems from overheating.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2014 BMW 525i 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 accessible, and you did a lot 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 2014 BMW 525i light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you commute over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to deliver it in to Richmond BMW Midlothian so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

2014 BMW 525i Check Engine Light Flashing

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

Every 2014 BMW 525i was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its laborious systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit 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 explicitly is incorrect nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Richmond BMW Midlothian provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Particularly Qualified Service expert.

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 correctly tightened to a more rigid failure like a detrimental catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it excellent to get the authentic code reading and diagnosis. The average estimate for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is typically between $88 and $111. The excellent news, Richmond BMW Midlothian offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light.

2014 BMW 525i Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard rapidly brightens, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right 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 525i. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can prefer. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling essential diagnostics will give you advantageous knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is exactly supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, clear and main vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of accessible OBD codes, there are also hundreds of accessible reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is difficult for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a rigid concern, you risk bad your automobile extra by not repairing the issue right away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out suddenly by a certified BMW mechanic. Call Richmond BMW Midlothian at 8043618758 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!

Is it safe to drive your 2014 BMW 525i with the check engine light on?

This question is not very visible 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 commute. This is mostly indicated by a persistent 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 inconceivable problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a inconceivable issue and it is recommended to service your BMW 525i quickly. Call the experts at Richmond BMW Midlothian by dialing 8043618758 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2014 BMW to our certified mechanics as soon as fair.

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

The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be interchanged. If you check engine light is flashing, we illustrate that you pull over and contact Richmond BMW Midlothian to help read if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we illustrate a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how copious miles you can drive with the warning light on.