I left the oil cap off. What should I do?

Question

My check engine light came on. At Autozone code p0171and p1506 popped up. The guy said something about removing it and cleaning it. I decided to check under my hood to see how many cyclinders, and noticed the cap was off. Help! I know nothing about cars. I figured i would get a tune up and asked someone to clean under the hood and get a new cap. What should I do??????????

Answer 1

p0171 is reporting an "Idle Air Control (IAC) Overspeed Error" and p1506 is "System Too Lean, Bank1".

The IAC should be easy to clean.  Or, you can buy a new one for around $50 to $70.  I don't know what car you have specifically, so you'll have to look up the instructions for that.

As for the lean error, perhaps try what this guy did:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/129233...

As for leaving the oil cap off, I'd go do an oil change.  If something foreign fell inside, you'll want to get it out before the engine forces it through a small clearance or something.  The codes don't refer to the oil cap, so don't worry about that causing your problems.  If you don't have an oil cap, use another car and drive to the store to pick one up.  You can either buy an original cap from the dealership, or go to an auto parts store to see if they carry a generic one for your vehicle.

Answer 2

Don't panic, your light came on because of the lack of compression in the engine. Your engine is not damaged. I don't think you went on the highway for more than

a week at a speed over 65 miles per hour. What you need to do now is to change the oil and change the oil filter, and of course buy a new oil cap.....

P.S. if you are going to get a tune up have it done for the mileage of the car don't have it done because of the oil cap problem, it will do nothing. Somebody can take advantage of you at a shop, the economy is not the best now these days.

You can also clean under the hood yourself, just take a paper towel and remove the oil under the hood.

After you have done all that disconnect the battery of the car for an entire night and I mean both the positive and the negative. In the morning, connect it again and you will see how that light is going to be off and remain off because you reseted the computer of the vehicle. You do not need to spend 70$....

Answer 3

Here's what to do. Go to a service station near you where you have an idea of who they are or go to some service station where your friends or family says they cool. Try to establish a working relationship by starting off by getting your car serviced. Tell them that the engine light comes on and that you noticed a cap is off. They'll take it from there and most likely you'll buy another cap from them. Try very hard to focus on working with one service station so that when the chips are down they will be there for you. Do not go to dealerships for servicing. You'll always pay more because they have a high overhead--lots or workers, facilities that have to be heated and maintained and so on. Stick with service stations.

Answer 4

Leaving the oil cap isn't bad, other then the mess it makes by throwing oil all over,, as long as you didn't run the engine with no oil

   The IAC is the Idle Air Control,    Take the car to a well known garage and have them recheck the car,, Since AutoZone techs are mostly sells people and really don't know that much about cars,,  The IAC can not be cleaned  it has to be replaced,, And other problems can give this same code,,  So have a good mechanic check it out for you      Good Luck

Answer 5

I believe I'd put it back on.  Then I'd check the oil.  There's a dipstick for that.  I believe I'd add some oil until it's full again.

Answer 6

1 get a new oil fill cap for YOUR car one does not fit all. 2 check and fill your oil level im sure you lost a lil on your engine.3 go to a self car wash and clean your engine off before it catches fire.  

Answer 7

check the oil and top it off cause sometime it will spray the oil out. It wont cause any problems other than that. the codes are probably something else. your gonna have to take it to a shop and have them diagnose the problem

Answer 8

You need to refill the oil, clean under the hood, and get a new cap.  You should get a compression check.  Depending on how far you drove, you probably damaged your engine.