99 Plymouth Breeze!

KATIE_MICHELLE

MEMBER
1999 PLYMOUTH BREEZE
4 CYL
AUTOMATIC
200,300 MILES

Today I started my car drove less then a mile and noticed the check engine light on, then while waiting for traffic so I could turn I noticed the temp Gage warmed up quicker then usual afraid there was something wrong I chose to go back to my friends rather then drive the half an hr home, then I noticed when my cars in park the rpm Gage shoots up and doesnt seem to want to go down, the car also seems to hesitate going up hills it has 200,300 miles on it. What's wrong with my car?

1 Reply

WRENCHTECH

MECHANIC
20,761 POSTS

The "check engine" light is an indicator for a system that monitors many electronic functions in the system, also called the "malfunction indicator lamp" (MIL). It can come on for any of hundreds of different causes from any of the systems that the computer monitors. Some are very important and can lead to further component or engine damage and some are emissions related not as serious but still a problem and need to be repaired.

Your first step is to have the computer scanned to retrieve the trouble codes that were set when the check engine light came on. Those codes will give you specific information about what the computer saw and will get you pointed in the right direction to find your problem. With a 1996 or newer and some 95 cars and you have an AutoZone or Advanced auto parts in your area, they will read them for free. Once you have these code numbers, we can be a lot more specific about what your problem may be.

If you drove the car while it was overheating, that could have created a whole new set of problems.