So today we're driving and the "tighten fuel cap" light comes on. this supposedly is no big deal according to the dealer last time it happened. they said sometimes that comes on, and it will go off. the funny thing is, i don't like it! a computer shouldn't display a message that is not true! anyways.....so today it comes on, then 10 minutes later...the check emissions light comes on.

the manual says sometimes this happens after a refuel if the tighten fuel cap light comes on first, but the funny thing is....i fueled up a week ago. anyways, i'm not liking this at 40,000 miles, because it's not far away from becoming my problem.

has anyone else experienced this? for the record, i have a 2006 TSX.

 

Buy a simple OBDII reader and erase the DTC. $50

 

any chance you can say that in english? i know a decent amount about cars, but what is DTC?

 

Diagnostic Trouble Code... which is the name given to the code that pops up with a Check Engine Light (or CEL). So those codes are typically Pnnnn (n being a number 0-9). If you buy one of these little OBDII code readers, you can see what P code you have for the CEL that has popped up. Sometimes you can have a few. I did a check on a friends POS Pontiac and he had 4 different codes associated to a temp issue on the thermostat and a cylinder misfire from either a faulty injector or bad spark plug.

 

or you could try buying a better quality gas.

these two problems are often associated with poor quality gas.

 

Your vehicle is still under the 80,000 mile 8 year emissions warrantee so the dealer should fix it.
Else you might try a new gas cap.

 

Get the code read and go from there.

 

you know of something better than Sunoco 93?

 

sounds good. i don't think it's worth buying the OBDII reader since autozone will do it for free. but since the car is still under warranty, i'm going to take it to them.

question though...once i get the DTC...how do i map the numbers to the problem? do i have to buy a maintenance manual?

 

stop by the dealer, call ahead, they will reset the code and tell you its fine. drive away and check the different color gasket they installed in your gas cap...

i checked the cap before arriving and noticed a black gasket showing a couple years of wear on the cap. got home after the dealer reset code, and the gasket is now a see-thru blue color. hmmmmmmm

 

interesting. wish i read this before i had it taken care of.

well, the problem is gone, they said they just reset it.

 

Man.. this considered good quality gas already.... just dunno whatelse can be better than Sunoco 93

 

His CEL came on as a result of loose gas cap not gas quality. Fuel system is pressure sensitive so a loose gas cap will trigger a CEL. And really no difference is gas quality from vendor to vendor, most come from same refinery.

 

Thats correct! Gas quality will NOT set a DTC. The problem lies within ur evap system. Either ur gas cap was loose, or ur gas cap is bad, or u might have a small evap leak. Chances r it's in ur cap. If it happens again ask the techs to search 4 any bulletins related to the DTC. I'm not 2 sure what the code is for Acuras or Hondas, but 4 GM, its usually a P0442 or a P0440 code. If they can't find anything and ur still under warranty have them do a smoke test on ur evap system. If there is a leak the smoke will find it. Good Luck.

 

If in fact it was a loose gas cap, the CEL will reset itself within a few days

 

Yea, if that what it is.

 

This is annoying. My "Tighten Fuel Cap" warning came on 6 days ago and it's still on even after tightening it up immediately when I saw the warning and I've already refueled since the light came on! Argggh! For the record, my mileage was at around 28,500 miles.

 

Take it to the dealer and have them check the evap system. it takes a while, but if there's any problems, they'll find it. I had the same thing in my 08 with about 8k miles. The message reset when I started it to take it to the dealer. Took about a week. They didn't find anything, but they did replace the gasket in the gas cap. They didn't put it on the invoice, but after reading this thread, I checked it. At 28.5k miles, you're still under warranty.