I have been cleaning carbon/soot (mostly soft) off the tailpipe of my F150 3.5 EcoBoost since I bought it new in 2013. I now have a little over 57,000 miles on it. I did not need to, but I changed the plugs when I hit about 50,000 miles.

My mileage was OK in my opinion (17.4 mpg) and still is. When driving long distances I would get around 22 mpg.

Yesterday the Check Engine Light came on. I asked at the auto parts store but they told me they no longer read codes for customers and the local Ford dealer wanted $115.00 plus tax to read it for me.

Everything seems OK on my vehicle so I suspect an oxygen sensor is carboned up. I ordered a OBDII reader but I won't be able to read the code until later next week.

Has anyone seen another reason for the tailpipe soot and should I be focusing on anything else while working on my current (CEL) issue?

Is there a way to change the rich mixture of this vehicle without causing other problems?

 

Do nothing until you find out what code is being stored. Come back here and report what you find and others will chime in what to look for.

 

Thta's odd, haven't heard anybody make the claim your local parts store made mention of.
As a matter of fact, people have posted code from parts store readings within the past few days.

Maybe try another store.

No need to assume it's an O2 sensor.
Seems to be hit and miss on tailpipe carbon. Mine is caked, some are not. I can't figure it out. Perhaps those of us with short trips experience it and highway trucks don't?

I'd go to another store to have the code read if possible then go from there. You're post is sort of all over the place with theories about the unknown.

 

also wanna add, do not pay Ford $115. Buy a reader for $20-30 online and check yourself.

 

Umm...

 

Missed that sorry. Having a convo with a 3yo and checkin on here can be a problem

 

I'm guessing I may have jumped the gun and you are correct, I should have tried another parts store. When the local "Advanced Auto Parts" counter folks (two ladies in this case) said they don't do the OBD test, only batteries, I called the Ford dealer from their parking lot and Ford wanted WAY too much money ($123.00 just for the test), I assumed the lawyers got to the parts stores and made them stop helping people when the real reason was likely that the store workers were just not able to do the testing so that particular store stopped doing it. Or, they were simply lying to me.

Yes, my post is sort of "all over the place". Since I won't be receiving the OBDII reader until later this week, I wanted to try to get ahead of the issue. Sorry, but I am so used to seeing certain failures which are common to all kinds of machines and devices that I though I could start looking at the more common problem areas. I'll just wait until I get the code reader.

Thanks.

 

I ordered the AL519 and paid $60.00 for it. I could have gotten a less expensive on but the Autel AL519 seemed like it was fairly well rated and good bang for the buck.

Thanks.

 

yea, like i said i skimmed and missed you bought it.

 

So it might just be a coincidence. But the last time I switched out my plugs, I also got a CEL. Mine turned out the be an issue with the plug that is on top of the intake tube at the top of the motor. It is a common issue of the wires failing and the sensor needing to be replaced. In my case, when the sensor gets jostled, it causes a CEL. I go out and jostle it around again and the light goes off and stays off. Might be worth a shot while you wait for the reader.