Hi this morning my "check emissions system" light came on during my commute to work. What should be my first attempt? take it to the dealer or look for something in the engine first?
Thanks!

 

I would take it to the dealership to check it out. I think you still have a 7/70 or 8/80 warranty on certain emission parts (assuming the 408 is the area code for Cali). The emission warranty is less in the other states.

From the Acura website:
http://owners.acura.com/Documentum/W...t/BPL32997.pdf

 

What I did was purchase a $180 to $200 CAN OBD2 Scan Tool with ABS and SRS reading capabilities on ebay (INNOVA Model 3160). I had a CEL indication come up on the emissions system, read it with the tool and noted it for future reference, erased the fault, and it hasn't come back in several months. Any little temporary, stray signal from the emissions or ignition systems can light up the CEL and the dealer will charge you $80 to $90 to erase it. If the CEL comes back on, you will then know you probably have a real problem and where it is, and then you can deal with the frustrations of getting your car to the dealer and arrange another way to and from work, etc. Just 2 false CEL's will more than pay for the tool. Plus you can use it on your other cars.

 

You can purchase a decent obd 2 for $30 on amazon. It's a good investment but simply deleting it is not the solution. If it was really a false code, it would clear itself after a few start cycles. Have you made sure your gas cap is tightened? That is one of the simplest causes of a CEL.

 

i have a much less expensive Actron reader that would not read the '08 MDX codes. After reading around the web i found out the reader has to communicate with the C.A.N. (Controlled Area Network) protocols. When I bought the INNOVA unit a couple years ago the CAN readers were more expensive. Now I see that you can get a CAN unit for under $100, although they don't do ABS and SRS.

 

I would check the gas cap first. Make sure it's tight. If its not tight it will trigger that warning, because it's letting vapors into the atmosphere. It could also be bad, they go bad pretty frequently.