texaninmichigan

We just got our 2000 C4 Cabriolet and the car is awesome, 58K miles in good condition. On Friday the check engine light came on so I limped it back home to our garage. We don't yet have an independent shop lined up, but I have a good relationship with the local dealer who is only five miles away. Car had good temp, normal oil pressure and otherwise sounded and acted normally.
IMS and clutch replaced in September 2016 (less than 1000 miles ago.)
I called our local dealer and asked if they had time to diagnose the car, he said, "sure." Brought it in and I started to panic but told myself that I shouldn't worry until I know what the problem is.
The service manager drove me home and I awaited the crappy news I knew I was going to hear.
He called me at 4:00 with the awful news. The car needs a new gas cap! Really? That happens on my 2001 Ford Explorer, too, go figure.
This leads me to my question...should we invest in our own diag tool to at least know what codes the car is throwing? And which one should we get that won't cost a fortune?
Shocking, but the dealer isn't charging me for the diag.

Thanks for the advice. I'm new to the forum and not nearly as technical as most of you. My husband has a 914 with one of Jake's engines in it!

Ahsai

If you have a smartphone, you can just buy a wifi/bluetooth obdii scanner for $20 or so. It can read the engine/emission codes anytime you want.

You probably had a gas cap with cracked gasket that trips the CEL.

texaninmichigan

Thanks for the info. That's exactly what the issue was. I felt silly bring it in for that.

Ahsai

If you use an Android phone, just get a bluetooth obdii dongle. If iphone, get a wifi obdii version.

texaninmichigan

Great. We will find the right one as it appears there are several to pick from. I just wasn't sure that the inexpensive ones would actually work. Glad to hear that they do.

Ahsai

There are many on amazon with reviews. I use oblink myself but the cheaper ones also work well. This link has pics to explain the difference between wifi and bluetooth.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019IGO9DA/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1497202008&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords

texaninmichigan

I ordered it. What have I got to lose? Thanks for the link! Hopefully no more trips to the dealer for stupid stuff.