1993 Mazda MX6 Hold Button

Please tell me why the Hold comes on without warning or being engaged and the engine light comes on and the engine feels as though it is locking down. I have to immediately stop the car and turn it off and restart it before being able to continue driving. It used to occur once in a great while and now it is everytime I drive it. I have never manually engaged the Hold buttom and really was unaware of it until this started and I saw the Hold light appear on the dash.
My sister drives a Mx-5 with the same feature but has had no problem with hers at all.
Thank you for any imformation you could share!