CEL 2006 Aveo5

Hello everyone!

I've been frequenting these forums for the last couple of weeks as I had purchased a 2006 Aveo5 LT from a private seller last Friday, I was hoping to have some decent pictures to introduce myself and my Aveo, but unfortunately my CEL came on today and I am prompted to ask for some advice!

So, my Aveo has just over 100,000KMs and has a clean history with only one previous owner. It is in excellent condition and drives beautifully! This afternoon, I had noticed that the Check Engine Light had suddenly come on. There is no visible or audible difference in how it drives. It still feels the same as when we got it and I have checked to make sure the gas cap is securely tightened, but have not had a chance to attempt to disconnect the battery to clear the CEL.

Barring any new obvious suggestions that I have overlooked, I know that ultimately I will need to get the code to get any advice from you folks, but I am curious to know if anyone knows of any particular places that would do a diagnosis for free? I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, so any places that would be available in my are would be handy to know. Alternatively, in order to save money , I would be willing to purchase what I need to get the code myself. The problem is that I don't know exactly what I am looking for when it comes to OBD-II scanning equipment. I have seen simple serial-to-USB connectors that come with diagnostic software that are relatively inexpensive. Would something like this work?

TL;DR
CEL came on. Everything -seems- completely fine inuding checking the gas cap. I will disconnect the battery tonight. Wondering of any places in Edmonton that could diagnose for free, OR if any inexpensive equipment I can buy to find the codes myself.

Ebay has some wires/software for $20-30 that you use with your computer and check/clear codes. Though, any auto part store should check them for free. At 100k km, the timing belt is coming due, did the last owner do it already? Do the battery thing though, it may go away and not come back. The aveo likes to throw codes though, most of the time they mean nothing.

Sorry about that, I should have mentioned that the timing belt was already done by the previous owner.

It is good to know that the equipment necessary to diagnose the CEL can, in fact, be had relatively inexpensively. Is there anything I need to look for in these cable/software kits or is it just that standard USB to 9-pin-parallel-serial-connector-looking-thing?

The pin thing is called a OBD2 port. You can get a scanner for cheap as well (that way you do not have to use your computer) but anything should work, just ype in OBD2 on ebay and have a pick. Some of the software takes some work to get working, but once you do it is worth it, I needed one to calibrate my gauges and to reset codes.

Awesome on the timing belt though, I always gotta ask when someone buys one, they never are changed usually.

Welcome to the forum btw!

Thank you for welcoming me to the forums!

I kind of figured it was as simple as getting that cable and software for use with a PC, but considering the price of those scanners, I thought it might be too good to be true!

I really love my Aveo so far, I will post some pictures in the introduction thread later this evening!

So after tightening the gas cap and waiting a bit, the CEL went away. However, after driving a little bit it has come back on. I am thinking it is either the gas cap or the crappy Safeway fuel that I had used. I will run this tank out and then throw in some Shell V-Power and see what happens. Pictures have to wait for tomorrow!

If anything, just get a new gas cap, someone on here just had to replace their's just this past week.

Alright... I filled up the tank with Shell Premium V-Power and the CEL went away quickly. It had stayed away for a couple days until this morning it had come on again during my commute to work. I'm definitely not ruling out the idea that I need to replace the gas cap, but another weird symptom has popped up...

When I start my car after it being off for a few hours or over night everything seems okay, but as soon as I put it into Drive my RPM jump up to around 1500 and I cruise at an accelerated speed for several seconds before it goes back down below 1000 RPM.

http://www.amazon.ca/Neewer-ELM327-O...9093154&sr=8-2

Would something like the OBD2 cable linked above work fine with the Aveo? Or is there a better (though still less expensive) solution that I should be looking at?

I have the same ELM327 tool, and it works fine (I have a 2007 Aveo) on my Windows XP laptop. The free software you get with the device allows you to check and clear the engine error codes (Pxxxx codes). This software however doesn't support checking ABS or Airbag error codes, but you can check the ABS error codes with this tool with other software. I have the check engine light going on and off all the time. The tool reads P0131, which means one of the oxygen sensors is probably faulty. I really don't care about replacing oxygen sensors cos they're expensive and I don't really care about emissions. As far as I'm concerned the engine can run in open loop mode all the time.