My 2005 Galant check engine light comes on, then a day or two later goes off. Only to return a month or so later to repeat the same thing. Car seems to be running fine. What should I do?

what engine? cause ive got an 02 stratus rt with the mitsubishi 3.0 and ive got the same problem and mine is cause of the egr valve. if thats what yours is the only thing itl impact is your gas milage by maybe 2-3 mpg

My engine is a 2.4L vinF 8th digit 4 cylinder, if this helps. I am a female so I don't know much about cars, but I'd hate to go to the dealership and get ripped off. thanks.

yeah i wouldnt recommend going to the dealership cause they charge a TON for just about anything. if anything id suggest finding someone with an OBD II scanner. that'll tell you whatever the check engine light is for. alot of mechanic shops have them so id try there. hope this helps!

It does, thanks so much.

katdebar, I just had a similar situation with my 1999 Galant (V6) a few days ago. My Uncle has an OBD-II (On Board Diagnostics) scanner and it came up with P0420 code. The technical description I found by Googling P0420 is "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)". Type P0420 into Google search line and you'll see the same results, for example, and the rest of the information available regarding my particular code reading. Also, my Uncle noted that AutoZone will read the codes for you, and I believe he noted AutoZone does not charge for this. You may want to look into that option - www.autozone.com has a store locator feature to see if one is in your neck of the woods. Your car may output a different OBD-II error code, and you could Google that particular code for a possible solution that may not require a trip to your mechanic/dealership. Funny thing with my issue was, the Check Engine Soon dash light came on about a week ago, stayed on while driving the car for about a week, then went out just before I met up with my Uncle this past Saturday to have him plug his OBD-II scanner into my car. Gotta love automobile computers. Anyway, hope this helps some. If you have any further questions on what I posted, please feel free to shoot another reply. The moral of my particular code was that the Check Engine Soon dash light was more of a nuissance than something that would prevent me from driving my car. For peace of mind, I was glad to know what was potentially going on with the car by finding out the OBD-II error code. In my case, not the end of the world. I, too, didn't really want to have to take my car in for service, and perhaps you could benefit by not having to take yours in for service as well, depending on the outcome of your OBD-II code research. Good luck to you.

firesprinklerguy4u Thank you for your response, very helpful information. There are some AutoZones in my area and will definetly check it out. My check engine light is currently off now. When it comes on it lasts for about 2-3 days and then just goes out. Next time it comes on, I will take it in. Thanks again.

katdebar, just a quick note. Even though your light is off right now, I believe the OBD codes stay in your car's computer. That was my experience. My Check Engine Soon light was not illuminated when my Uncle plugged his OBD-II device into my car. The code was still resident though. Again, good luck with your vehicle.

My 2005 Mitsubishi galant shut off on it's own, won't start although it sounds like it wants to someone help

Try removing the battery cables and it may reset itself.

With regard to the codes staying in the computer, I had my mechanic reset the code. The check engine light went off immediately but he told me I needed to drive the car for about 20 minutes for the code to clear from the computer. After driving it for 10 minutes (I was being impatient), I took it to an E-Check place (exhaust check required here in Cleveland area), and it failed because the code hadn't yet cleared. I drove for another 10 minutes, took it back to E-Check and it passed.