the dreaded check engine light
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
United States
August 10, 2011 10:21pm CST
So after a million trades on his vehicle he's had his current car for a lil over a year. We both like it and it was finally something he was wise enough to get that was under 100k in miles! 
But either way he came home from work and said the check engine light was on. Ok he's got a foreign car this could cost a fortune. I told my Aunt of my pending worries (as whenever something starts to go wrong there he goes trading his car yet again and we can't afford him to do this again) though she said she's driven a car with the light on or it would go off in time and I shouldn't get worried. I just know how he is.... and we can't afford a higher payment or a down payment on something else as he's upside down from all his trading. I guess I'm thankful I don't work too far away from home so if there's a problem I wouldn't be stranded plus having roadside assistance. I dunno I just hope maybe it's something related to the trip that says we are overdue for maintenance which isn't true as we've gotten our oil change but because it wasn't at the dealer the trip was not reset.
Do you take a the check engine light on as something serious? Or do you wait til something happens where the car does not function? When do you think it's time to worry?
But either way he came home from work and said the check engine light was on. Ok he's got a foreign car this could cost a fortune. I told my Aunt of my pending worries (as whenever something starts to go wrong there he goes trading his car yet again and we can't afford him to do this again) though she said she's driven a car with the light on or it would go off in time and I shouldn't get worried. I just know how he is.... and we can't afford a higher payment or a down payment on something else as he's upside down from all his trading. I guess I'm thankful I don't work too far away from home so if there's a problem I wouldn't be stranded plus having roadside assistance. I dunno I just hope maybe it's something related to the trip that says we are overdue for maintenance which isn't true as we've gotten our oil change but because it wasn't at the dealer the trip was not reset.
Do you take a the check engine light on as something serious? Or do you wait til something happens where the car does not function? When do you think it's time to worry?2 people like this
13 responses
@GardenGerty (157548)
• United States
11 Aug 11
Usually not serious. Sometimes it is just set to go off after so many miles to get you to take the car in for a service and inspection. We usually ignore them. Maybe some place like Autozone would hook the car up to the electronic thing that diagnoses problems.
2 people like this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
11 Aug 11
That's what hubby wants to do in the morning. I just picture him going out vehicle shopping. The last car that had that light that kept going off even after repairs he traded. Same with a pick-up it needed new gaskets, I refused to drive it as it was tooo big and I think the light eventually went off on that one as well. It just makes me nervous he'll be out car shopping. I'm hoping it's nothing as I said he's a few months past that trip for a service plant to be done. We just went to one of those no appt places as it's hundreds to go to the dealership and I read on a forum all it is, is an overpriced oil change and belt change.*crossing fingers*
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (157548)
• United States
11 Aug 11
That's about the size of it, it is preventative maintenance.
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
11 Aug 11
I truly hope that's all that it is. In a way I don't want him to get it diagnosed as it could cause me alot of stress and money I don't have. The payment is enough as it is already on that car as well as everything else.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
11 Aug 11
hi 3snugglebunnie I am told the light often goes on when its supposedly time for a check u p so I really would not worry unlessthe car is actually malfunctioning. I am no driver and we always had well used cars so I am not u p on these things.I
would take your Aunt's advice and wait awhile. the economy the
way it is most of us like to try to save if we can.
1 person likes this
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
11 Aug 11
I've always had a new car because my Mom went thru all this drama constantly with the beaters she'd buy. It's not malfunctioning other than it needs a tail light replaced and as i mentioned the trip for service needs to be reset provided the next time it needs an oil change the tech knows how to do it w/o paying the dealership to do it.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
11 Aug 11
It depends on how the car's acting. Check engine lights can come on for anything. Mine came on recently because the gas cap wasn't on tight enough. Have him check everything like that he can, then there are ways to reset the computer so the light goes off. If it comes on again, then he should take it in. Different cars have different ways to reset the computer, but you should be able to find out online how to do his.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
11 Aug 11
I'm sure there's a reset in his manual it's just a matter of him taking the time to do it. That's a good point as well to check the gas cap, I imagine there's some sort of pressure in the tank that the computer notices.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
11 Aug 11
Go online and find out if the make and model of your car has false "check engine" indicators. There is even something you can buy for under $50 that can diagnose the cause for you. I've read a lot of experiences about the light coming on because of a malfunction that is in the reading mechanism or because of something very minor. Don't panic or sell just yet until you research it online.
Reset your oil change light! If you don't have the manual look one up online. That might take care of the problem. I know mine involves turning the car off then turning it back on and pushing the trip mileage button or some such thing--I have to read it again every time. Dealers won't touch it, usually, for some reason. That could be the cause of the light.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
11 Aug 11
That service notice that it's past due has been on for several months as it's programmed once it hits a certain mileage to go on. He did drive it to the auto parts store to see if they could plug it in and it went off on the drive over. He did need to replace some lights on the car as every time we turn around a bulb for something is going out but that's the worst it's been since we bought it. And I can live with replacing a few bulbs KWIM?
Thanks for the great advice as always Dragon! I do panic as I know how he is when it comes to things.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
11 Aug 11
Me too! You know most cars you can't do the work yourself on anymore. So there isn't a friend or whomever you can take your car to really around anymore it's all to a mechanic and try not to feel faint when they tell you how much it's going to cost.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
11 Aug 11
My check engine light turned on shortly after I purchased my van. I brought it down to the shop because it needed to be inspected.. they reset the light and I had to drive it around for a couple days to see if the light would come back on. When it didn't.. they gave it a new inspection sticker and off I went. Like the very next day the light came back on and hasn't gone off since. Other than the car needing a wheel bearing, there are no major issues with it. I've gotten it oil changes regularly. It even got a tune up not too long ago. I can't imagine what's making the engine light go on.. but I will keep driving it until it is no longer driveable.
Hubby's car is the exact same way. His light has been on since we got it, and he's had his car over a year. He drives it no matter what and only replaces things when they become a huge problem. He needs a new O2 sensor, whatever that means. He also needs new brakes now because they locked up on him yesterday.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
11 Aug 11
My Aunt said the same thing as long as it runs and nothing major seems to be affecting it's performance not to stress. But with his trading habbit the minute something goes wrong puts me in quite a worry.
We had an o2 sensor replaced on a nissian we had. The engine light still stayed on even after the repair. It's some sort of sensor that detects oxygen levels in some part of the car. I'll double check w/ hubby when he gets home what it was... but it was 300 ish to fix.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
11 Aug 11
We had the O2 sensor fixed once and it only cost $20. Must be the type of car. He's got a Grand Prix.
@carolscash (9492)
• United States
11 Aug 11
My husband's truck has been ran for almost 3 years with that light on. It coud be many things that causes it to come on and most times it is something minor. I would take it and have a diagnostic test ran on it at an auto parts store as it is probably something simple.
Someone said something about the O2 Sensor- that should be a realtively cheap cost and if not they are taking advantage of you. My husband works on cars all the time and he doesn't take advantage of people like some shops do.
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
22 Aug 11
sometimes they come on automatically whether it truely needs service or not.
it's kind of a manufactorer's "suggestion".
like having to pay for a physical when you're not feeling ill.
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
20 Aug 11
I wouldn't worry too much about the light unless the car is giving problems. With the computer systems that are on newer cars, they will turn on for almost anything. Most of the time, it is nothing serious; just telling you that you should get it checked out soon. My mechanic just puts his meter on my car and tells me what the code means. Unfortunately, the repair he did on my car didn't prevent the light from coming on again. But since the engine still runs well, I am not overly worried about it. I hope that there is nothing serious wrong with your car. Have a great weekend!!!
@savypat (20216)
• United States
11 Aug 11
A check engine light gets my instant attention, I at least want to know why, that will tell me if I have to do something or not. It is important to have a auto shop that you cn trust since I think many scams are done in that industry, especially if you are a woman.
@blue65packer (11826)
• United States
11 Aug 11
I have been drinig my car with the engine light on for well over a year. I found out there is a lose wire in my car's engine's transmission that is causing it. I was told it was nothing to worry about. I have not! If there was something wrong with my car I would of known by now! LOL!
@earthpanther (148)
• United States
11 Aug 11
On my last vehicle I had a "service engine" light and a "check engine light". That was very useful because "service engine" meant that there was an issue in the air intake or exhaust. Usually I just needed to change the air filter. "Check engine" meant there was a more serious issue. However many cars only have 1 light making it harder to determine if the problem is a more minor one or a serious one. I would have the car looked at as soon as possible. While it is possible that the car could drive for a while before breaking down totally it is generally less expensive to fix the smaller problem now rather than waiting until a massive breakdown that will be more costly. I know it seems easier to ignore the light and not spend any money, but think about how much worse the situation would be if the car broke down while driving somewhere.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
18 Aug 11
Hi Snuggle!
There are those that tell me that it is not at all serious as this is sort of a warning for service. Me on the other hand with my older vehicles when I use to see this light I would panic that the car would die soon.
Thankfully it never was the case but I usually would take it in to get looked at to be sure.
