I have a 2009 Elantra. I bought it with 40K miles on it. It now has 57K miles. The car has not given me any problems until recently. Last Thursday, I was pulled over to the side of the road with my blinker on. Traffic was heavy, so I put on my hazard lights. When I pulled back into traffic, I discovered that the Malfunction Indicator was on (also called the Check Engine light). I brought the car into the dealer. They spent 2.5 hours running tests and couldn't find anything wrong. The mechanic told me he "cleared the codes," but when I left the dealership the Malfunction Indicator lit up. Anybody have any advice?

 

Find a better dealer. If the CEL is on, there is a problem.

 

The MEL will always be associated with a code. Check to see if on the receipt they listed the codes, they should have since he said they cleared the codes. What codes where they. That is the key. You don't get a single or multiple codes for no reason and 2.5 hours is excessive for a scan and visual check. Any symptoms with the car? Is the MEL light on constant, intermittent or blinking?

 

MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light), not MEL. Otherwise known as the CEL (Check Engine Light) in the US.

 

The MIL stays on all the time. The car seems to drive okay, with a few caveats: for one, I think I can smell the odor of gas when I get out after driving. And it may be my imagination, but my fuel economy may be suffering. I agree, 2.5 hours seemed absurd. I think the mechanic took his lunch break in the middle. Thanks for the input.

 

Get the computer scanned to read the codes. Let us know what the codes are. Or just go to a better mechanic/dealer.

 

Did you look on the receipt? They almost always put the codes there and usually circle them. It makes no sense to just clear codes, especially if there was more than one. I've been to 4 different manufacturer's training schools on OBD. 2.5 hours to just clear codes and no explanation, never heard of that happening even once. Its the opposite of why you brought the car in to them. Go back to the dealer and ask for the service manager and show him the receipt, if no luck with him at their expense, ask for the regional managers number, they can't make the dealer do anything but often can put enough pressure on them to at least have another tech put an hour into looking at it for free. If your in the US, complain to the BBB and if so and they don't offer anything to a written complaint, file for arbitration through BBB. Been a while since I've done one but I never lost and from what you describe and if that is the whole story, they didn't meet industry standard practices.

 

I didn't get a receipt, since there was no charge -- the car is under warranty. But, yes, now I know I should have asked for the codes all the same. This is all new to me -- I used to drive an old car! I'm bringing the Elantra back to the dealer tomorrow and will take all of your advice. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks a lot.

 

Even under warranty you should get a receipt, makes no difference, its documentation the dealer HAS to do for a wide variety of reasons, including paying the mechanic and billing of Hyundai at a silly low cost. This is totally a different scenario now. Usually its 5/50k bumper to bumper and now you are outside the warranty on some parts but safe on the powertrain. In any case, its never acceptable to, and let me make sure I use the right abbreviation here, have a CEL/MIL light on all the time. Never. Do report back what they find and see if you can get the original codes and make sure you get a receipt. What country you in? In or out of warranty, thats standard practice if not law in most all places.

 

OK, here are the codes: P0171 and P0140. I didn't understand what the first one was all about (air flow something or other), but the second concerns the O2 sensor. I gather they both concern the engine's air:fuel ratio. At any rate, the dealer fixed both problems, the CEL is out, and the car is running fine. I have no clue why they didn't fix it the first time I took the car in, though I have to say they bent over backwards to accommodate me the second time around, which I'm taking as evidence that they know they messed up. Thanks for all your input.