Expert: Skip Bollinger - 10/16/2006

Question
my emission light is on and this is hte second time it has come on. i put unleaded gas in it then i put the plus gas in but i a had my car running when i put gas in it Saturday. i read in my book about some of the things that can cause it to come on. could you tell what to do next. it is a 2000 ford tarus se.

Answer
Joyce,
  There are quite a few things that could cause this light to be on. Depending where in the country you are, there are auto parts stores that now will go out into the parking lot and plug in a scanner to "read" the "problem codes" in your computer. O'Reilly Auto Parts, Auto Zone and Advance are just some of the companies that will help you.
  You WILL need special test equipment to solve this problem and purchasing them would be expensive.
  You can just throw parts at the car and hope for the best or take to a QUALIFIED Technition and have it fixed. I would strongly NOT take to your "brother-in-law's cousin who has a friend that put a muffler on his Toyota" to get this fixed. These new cars such as yours are just too complicated for the local street guy to fix it.
  I'm sorry not to give you a better answer but I'm a Parts Specialist, NOT a Tech. I hope my thoughts give you a little direction, however. Good luck...
  Skip
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