Check Engine Light... what's it really mean?

In my experience it means "ignore it till there's a noise, then turn the radio up until I can hear the noise over the music".

I think your Check Engine Light light is broken. Is your Check Check Engine Light Light flashing?

your tune-up or gas filter replacement are most likely the cause. go back to where you had the tune-up done and ask them :-)

in a honda it usually means you're overdue for an oil change.

In my Ford that I had, my check engine light came on after a certain mileage point. It was just time for a check-up, because my car had so many miles on it. I ignored it. Nothing bad happened to my car and eventually the light went off.

But if you just had your car in for a tune-up, it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring it back and have them look at it, hopefully they won't charge you for it.

it could be any number of things. For example...if your oxygen sensor has gone bad it may trigger your check engine light.

Here's the thing about vehicle maintenance...a layman may think it's not a big deal because even though the Check Engine light is on...the vehicle appears to be running just fine.

With newer vehicles...everything is computerized. Things tend to work in a chain-reaction series of events with computerized cars. Take again the example of the oxygen sensor. Clean, cool air means efficient performance for your engine. Dirty, hot air makes your car work harder & use more fuel.

You rely on your vehicle for transportation...treat it like an investment instead of a just a conveyance. The purchase price is just the beginning of your long-term financial responsibility to your vehicle. Timely maintenance along with quality parts is essential to the life of your car.

The check engine light is telling you that something is wrong with your car. If you think it's just a way for dealers & mechanics to make money....find a better mechanic who you can trust....or if that is too hard...take it to a few different shops and see if their assessment of the problem is similar.

take it to a local shop and just ask them to run a diagnostic, they will usually do it for free, and if it throws a code, then they can let you know specifically whats wrong with it, and yeah, sometimes they just short out, and sometimes the new car manufacturers have it set so itll go off anyway, avoid the dealer at all costs, they want your money!!

Take it back to the place you got the tune up from and say you were busy, but the light came on a little while after you left. See what they do.

Fuck, you just reminded me I just missed most of car talk on NPR.

Haha. Loser. I listened the fuck out of it.

Eh, Ever since Ive owned my van (and while my stepdad owned it) the check engine light would just go on and off randomly. It still does it. It'll be off for a few minutes, then stay lit for 30 seconds. One day, it will stay lit and I will never notice and then...You'll hear about a girl that died when her beloved van blew up with her inside of it.

+1 for Cash. Even if it's for something non-damaging to the engine, the check engine light comes on for a reason; whether it's scheduled maintenance, something minor compromising your car's fuel efficiency, or actual engine damage occurring, you should get it checked out if you plan on keeping this car and having it run reliably. (And if you want to pass a state emissions test, if you're subject to one.)

With my car, a steady check engine light usually means a compromise in the fuel pressure (often just a loose gas cap). A flashing check-engine light, though, means severe problems causing fuel to go to the exhaust system without being consumed-- which is a great way to destroy your very expensive catalytic convertor.

And +1 for SirPsychoSexy. Having just had a tune-up, there's a good likelihood something wasn't tightened properly, and they should be willing to read the code to rule-out error on their part (and/or fix error on their part).

Your '98 is more sensitive than a pre-'95 car, since it has to comply with a tougher federal standard (OBD2) than the older cars (OBD1). OBD1 cars have 2 digit codes (99 possible codes), OBD2 cars like yours have 4 digit codes (9,999 possible codes).

Bottom line is, get it scanned to pull the code which tells the mechanic what's wrong. It may be nothing more serious than a loose gas cap... or it may be potentially very damaging to your engine, catalysts, or other expensive parts. Hondas do not illuminate the check engine light for overdue oil changes, neither do any other cars to my knowlege. As mentioned above, a flashing check engine light indicates imminent expensive damage, so don't drive when the light is flashing.

Since your car is OBD2 compliant it will eventually turn off the light on its own after the problem is fixed. Some parts stores will scan your car for free... but remember, they're parts stores and want to sell you parts. Taking it back to the shop that just did the tuneup is a better idea.

my check engine light has been flashing for oh...about a year.

i took it somewhere to get it fixed and they just told me to ignore it.

Listen to Stiles, he is correct.

It means that damn piece of electrical tape covering it has fallen off again.

I ignored mine.

+1

top up your oil, unplug the car's battery for a few minutes and it should go away. if it comes back shortly thereafter, head to the dealer and get the code read

No. Check engine lights have nothing to do with oil change frequency, oil level or pressure, and cannot be reset on '96 or newer cars by disconnecting the battery.

Sometimes it's something major, sometimes it's nothing at all. It's kind of a catch-all warning that says you should take it to a mechanic (or at least a Jiffy Lube) and get a more accurate reading of what the car might be trying to tell you.

My Mustang's "Check Engine" light was on the entire time I owned it. I would have it turned off, only to have it turn on again, and there was nothing physically wrong with the car.

No offense, but if the light comes on, something is wrong. That's what it is there for. Whether what's wrong is serious or minor is another matter. Simply getting the light reset fixes nothing, as you found out.

bullshit...on both counts. low oil pressure in a honda will turn the VTEC off, resulting in a check engine light.

my car's a 2000 accord and when my check engine light went on last, the code pulled by the dealer was vtec failure due to low oil pressure. the fix that was recommended to me by the mechanic at my dealer was, now that i had changed the oil and had sufficient pressure was to go home, disconnect the battery for a few minutes, then operate as normal for at least 200 miles.

check engine light hasn't been on since then, it's been about two years since.