Will It Damage My Engine If I Continue to Drive My Car with the Check Engine Light On?
It can be an unnerving experience to be driving in your car and the check engine light suddenly pops up. If this has happened to you, you're not alone.
In this post, we talk about a few reasons your check engine light may be on and what to do about it.
Vehicle manufacturers connect the check engine light to your vehicle emissions system. Any issues detected by this built-in system system can cause the yellow light to flicker to life.
When your check engine light comes on, this is the first sign that there is an issue under the hood. Following are five common Issues that trigger the check engine light:
- Oxygen sensor
- Gas Cap
- Failing catalytic converter
- Mass Airflow sensor
- Spark plugs
What to Do When Your Check Engine Light Comes On
The first thing to do when your check engine light comes on is to remain calm. Listen for unusual sounds under the hood like grinding. Is there smoke or any unfamiliar smells coming from the vehicle?
If nothing seems out of the ordinary (besides the check engine light coming on) you may continue to drive for a reasonable distance to get home, to a mechanic, or in a safer location to pull over and inspect the vehicle.
Our Certified Mechanics Can Help!
A certified automotive technician can help you figure out why your check engine light is on. When you take your car in for service, your mechanic will connect it to a diagnostic machine. The machine provides the mechanic with important trouble codes.
The codes tell them what issues (if any) have gone wrong with the vehicle. Your mechanic will explain the results of the computer generated diagnostic (based on the trouble codes they received).
Is your check engine light on? We invite you to bring your vehicle to Knight Automotive today for a diagnostic!