just had the check engine light come on in my truck at 36,240 miles. i bought it used (at 32,126 miles) and did not get the extended warranty. i cant get the truck in to the dealer until probably friday. the truck seems to run fine, no stalling, sputtering, bad shifting, nothing, and the fuel economy hasnt changed. any suggestions of what it might be(besides a million things)? also has anyone had any similar problems? been happy with the truck, just dont want any problems.

 

I have a '02 1500 4.7L Quad Cab that I bought used. Twice in the last 8 months my check engine light came on and the truck seemed to be fine. I took it in and paid a guy $80 to tell me my gas cap was loose. The computer pressurizes the gas tank from time to time and apparently the seal on the factory gas cap has a tendency to get loose and causes the light to go on(I was told this by the dodge dealers here). Within a few months, the same thing happened, I checked the gas cap, and it was loose. This time, for 2 days, I kept re-tightening the gas cap and finally it went off on its own. Dont know if this applies to you, but when I spoke to the Dodge dealer, they claim a lot of guys call them with the same problem.

 

strange thing, that morning when i left work for home and got into my truck the light was off and it has not come back on (knock on wood). no clues on that one. nothing seems wrong with the truck. maybe it was the gas cap.

 

Without knowing codes it's hard to tell, but many situations like this are emissions related--as the gas cap explanation supports. Other causes can include a sensor reading out-of-range (e.g., an o2 sensor being slow to heat, etc),

Often, if the vehicle runs okay and the light goes off after a few ignition cycles this is the case.

All the best.