The first thing is to have the diagnostic fault codes read and recorded. The people at many auto parts stores will do that for you for free.
Driving with the Check Engine light on is a very bad idea. The Engine Computer detected a problem that could be relatively minor, but it could turn into an expensive one if the cause is ignored. Even when the cause is determined to be not real serious, you would never know if a second, really serious problem develops because the light is already on.
You can get an idea of the severity of the fault code by how the Check Engine light acts. When the problem is intermittent and not serious, the light will go off when the problem stops occurring. If it's a little more serious, the light will stay on, even when the problem goes away, until you stop and restart the engine. When it's more serious, even though it may not be acting up right now, the light will be on anytime the engine is running. Those are the ones that can cause other expensive repairs. The really bad problems cause the Check Engine light to flash. That means stop the engine right away because serious damage is occurring right now.
Wednesday, August 12th, 2020 AT 2:35 PM
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