2004 XC90 AWD "Check Engine" Light is illuminated

hjself · Post by **hjself** » 25 Nov 2005, 07:59

Yesterday, as I was driving home, the "check engine" light came on. I checked the Gas Filler Cap and it was securely in place. I did a visual check of the engine and underside of the vehicle and found nothing wrong. I checked engine lube oil and the cooling water and all is well. This being a holiday weekend ( Thanksgiving day in USA ) the only folks I could talk to are the Roadside Assistance people. They are ready to tow my car to the dealership (85 miles away ) but cannot tell me if it is or is not safe to drive the car. Does anyone have any wisdom on this matter? Has anyone figured out how and/or where to reset the light ( if it was a transitory issue ) or ????? Today is Friday and the dealership will not reopen until Monday. I serve as pastor to a congregation 70 miles from my home and I am expected to offer worship leadership on Saturday and Sunday. Any suggestions about next steps?

Post by **matthew1** » 26 Nov 2005, 01:06

Check Engine on 850s and 70s means the system logged an emission-related error, and I've read nothing to lead me to believe the XC90 or any other Volvo is any different.

It is usually not catastrophic. For instance, I drove my 850 for weeks with a CE light set by a malfunctioning O2 sensor (code 212).

I don't know how to check codes on an XC90, but if you can find out the code you'll know what your Volvo is signalling, and you can go from there.

Now if it was a Low Oil light...

hjself · Post by **hjself** » 26 Nov 2005, 08:05

Thansk for the helpful reminder Matthew.

configsys · Post by **configsys** » 07 Jan 2007, 19:48

You need an OBD-2 code reader to read the codes and to reset the codes as well. Autozone offers up one for their customers to use for free. I have one myself and it's been so valuable to use to troubleshoot what is wrong. I haven't really used it on the XC90 but on my other cars it's been a treasure.