could anyone be of help please. i just recently bought a 1998 toyota camry. i noticed that the check engine light has been on for some time now. although the car drives quite smoothly and there are no strange noises, it seems fuel consumption is rather high. i always have the air conditioner switched on though (i live in a rather hot town). i do not want to take the car to any mechanics yet until i have an idea of what might be wrong. i'll appreciate your candid responses.

This check engine light can just come up due to a malfunction in the System. THis happens mainly in American Spec cars,
all u have to do is to take off the Battery Terminals of the Battery (Positive and Negative), Just allow it for 30 seconds, then connect them again. Then Start your car, and The Check engine light will go off,
Enjoy your ride jari, Nothin do u,
One love,

Tha234

That is the worst thing you can do when you don't know about OBDII.
You need to get it scanned for DTCs (codes) that will indicate where a malfunction is then fix it first before you erase the codes(disconnect battery)
Those people you see complain about error on their Honda CD players had it because they didn't erase with a scan tool.If you are burning fuel, its either yourair filter clogged, sparkplugs are worn, O2 sensor is bad(most likely) or catalytic converter is bad.Even not locking your gas cap properly cause the light to come on.
So get it scanned first and search on internet for the meaning of the codes. You'll find ow to reapair it and part you'll need.

Pali, disconnecting and then reconnecting the battery, nah serious Ojoro. The light will eventually show a few days later if not the same day. Heed to Sultaan's advise.

could anyone be of help please. i just recently bought a 1998 toyota camry. i noticed that the check engine light has been on for some time now. although the car drives quite smoothly and there are no strange noises, it seems fuel consumption is rather high. i always have the air conditioner switched on though (i live in a rather hot town). i do not want to take the car to any mechanics yet until i have an idea of what might be wrong. i'll appreciate your candid responses.

It could be anything . Oxygen sensor is bad, oil sensor, bad fuel, fuel cap was not closed tightly, transmission problem(thats a big one) etc. You need to run a scan on the car to know what is at fault. Shoot, the car is 10 yrs old, that means it's a very old car and it could be the vents are dusty or the throttle acceleration sensor.

American cars come with check engine light. It may be the catalytic converter. The converter makes the carbon produced while the engine is running less harmful to the ozone layer. We are not environmentally friendly in Naija so if na that thing , comotam throway. It's only installed in US cars anyway and it's preety expensive in case you want to buy a new one.