LogFAQs > #979137553

EclairReturns posted...

The check-engine light has been on in my car for about a month, now. I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen unless I have it inspected immediately

On modern cars, the check engine light is almost entirely meaningless.

On older cars the engine light wouldn't come on unless your car was about to undergo some sort of catestrophic failure, like you were losing oil and were on the verge of thermo-locking your engine block. It was pretty much a "if this light is on pull over immediately" sort of thing.

But on modern cars the check engine light is tied into the electronics and diagnostics, and can go off for any number of minor bullshit issues. It can generally light for things as mild as "your O2 sensor is slightly out of sync" (which can affect your mileage but isn't really a danger to your car) all the way to something incredibly stupid and meaningless like "you're out of wiper fluid".

If the engine light is the only thing different and you're not noticing any other warnings or alerts, and there doesn't seem to be any obvious change in how your car is running and driving, you're almost certainly fine to wait to get it checked out.

If it's been lit for a month and hasn't broken down yet, you're almost certainly fine waiting another week or so.