They're called IDIOT LIGHTS for a good reason!

[Bosch]

I can't reset the light. Dealer charges 80 bucks.

First time - I took it in because I didn't know what was causing it.
Second time - I checked the cap and it looked fine so I took it in...and that was the problem anyway.
Third time - Cap was fine, took it in just to be safe, and it died on the way, so it was a good thing I made the appointment.
Next time - hope there isn't one.

Hey if you don't know, you don't know. knowing when to call a pro is smarter sometimes that dicking around with it yourself. Been there done that thrown the wrenches in the wall in frustration over it. What took me days to do on one side took him a couple hours to do the other side and have the alignment done too.

A scangauge is a car nerd toy, but if you are one its cool to have.

[Lingering Grin]

The owners manual also says that if this particular light is flashing (which it never has on my car), then that means there's an issue with the exhaust system.

Mine does something similar, except with water.

I'm not exactly sure WHAT part of the car does it (I think it's either the brakes or the radiator, it's definitely positioned low on the car), but there's some sort of sensor where if it gets wet the "Check Engine" light comes on for the next 3 trips of at least 5 miles.

It's suppose to indicate that the car is being "flooded"... but of course it comes on if I just hit a big enough puddle (or if I hit a puddle fast enough), even if only for a second... and seeing how this is Florida, the light comes on ALL the freaking time in the summer, when there's a Thunderstorm EVERY afternoon lol

[IT Grunt]

Further proof that the most failure prone part of a vehicle is the nut behind the wheel.

[draftermatt]

When the check engine light FLASHES, it means imminent damage to the catalytic converter- the most expensive thing in the exhaust.

Exhaust system trouble is the RESULT of driving with it flashing. Flashing usually means a misfire.

But the check engine light has HUNDREDS of unique reasons it could come on, many of them harmless to drivability or longevity. Amber lights aren't usually as important as red ones.

The check engine constantly comes on in my Jeep. 9 times out of 10 "Cylinder misfire", no matter how many times I've replaced the plugs.

The 1 out of 10? "Catalyst Operating below efficiency" I've replaced 3 Cats in that Jeep, it's 13 years old and has 180K miles. It's not getting a new one.


Your original post reminds me of an early episode of Home Improvement

Tim has to take Jill's car to work and right after he leaves he comes inside "Jill how long has the oil light been on?"

She goes on to say that she thought that if it were something really bad it would get darker red and start flashing or buzzing, which is why she's been driving it around with the light on for a week+.

[sms001]

I vote for a "gremlin in the ashtray" feature.

Trunk Monkey!

[Bosch]

The check engine constantly comes on in my Jeep. 9 times out of 10 "Cylinder misfire", no matter how many times I've replaced the plugs.

Have you tried swapping wires? Sorry have to ask the stupid question. If so please have have a nice day and continue to next thread

[SpyOne]

My father's mechanic used to say that when the oil light came on, you just might have time to bring the car to a stop before your engine explodes.

I must confess to being on the idiot end of this once, too. Hot day, driving fast on the highway, old car. As I neared my exit, I put in the clutch and the engine stalled. Letting the clutch out would re-start the engine, but I could not accelerate, only maintain speed. That's when I noticed that one of the warning lights that came on when it stalled said simply "ENGINE" on it. Not "OIL" or "TEMP" or anything helpful like that, so I began to look around at my gauges to see what else I could learn, and that's when it hit me: "Holy C$^#, this thing doesn't have a temperature gauge!"

I had cooked my engine really well: boiled off all my coolant, then boiled off my oil. My heads were warped and the headcovers loose and the gaskets were basicly destroyed. I'm amazed the engine was salvageable at all.
The entire inside of the engine compartment was coated with a green-brown liquid that felt like oil and smelled like antifreeze.

[protege]

My father's mechanic used to say that when the oil light came on, you just might have time to bring the car to a stop before your engine explodes.

That was why I'd always carry a can or two of oil in the Tercel's trunk. After 100,000 miles, it was burning a bit of oil now and then....usually when firing it up first thing on a cold morning. In fact, I nearly got into trouble over that. The nutjob next door tried to claim that the blue smoke was killing his plants. Odd that they all died soon after I'd sold the car...

Also, any MG owner will tell you that oil leaks are common on those cars, even on low-mileage examples. Mine only drips now and then on the garage floor

As for "check engine" lights, I actually had one cause a car to fail its state inspection. Twice, in fact with that stupid Mazda. Because the code it was spewing pointed to the emissions sensors, I had no choice but to replace them. Didn't work--the code still came out, and I'd had enough. It was going to cost plenty to get it through the test, and I couldn't justify it. Why pay several hundred on that, and then again when the next thing went wrong? So I traded the heap in, and let some other sucker deal with it

Then there's that damn Ford Tempo I once owned. This thing had some electrical issues with the dashboard. The "check engine" light would flicker, one of the turn signals wouldn't work, etc.

At least that car had the decency to kill itself. As I'm driving home, not only did the light flicker, but I could smell the pungent odor of coolant. I didn't want to stop in an unsafe neighborhood, so the only thing I could do was drop the windows, crank up the heat, and go slow. The car held together for about 2 miles, before the engine blew up...and someone hit it

The reason for the carnage? Simple. My father wouldn't get it fixed properly.

[Argabarga]

The most insidious check engine light I ever saw was in my buddies 87' VW Golf, this being the days before OBDII, (the current system of universal fault codes for engine computers, before then, every manufacturer used thier own speical set) the way to decode what it meant wasn't easily available to the general public yet.

By the time it started going off though, the codes were available online and we figured we'd decode it ourselves instead of using a garage.

The reason for the light?

"Service Interval"

The light was PROGRAMED to trip every "X" miles reguardless of any other faults to make you take it in and have it checked out. All things considered, not an out-and-out bad thing, but I'm sure it scared a lot of people into spending money they didn't have to.

[friendofjimmyk]

I'm sorry that the people in the OP were women! It makes me ashamed of my gender.

My favorite would be when I was towing cars and I would pull up to a woman driver needing her car towed and she was asking me what the light meant. When I would explain it, most of the time, they would not believe me - I would be able to tell that they didn't believe me because they'd ask, "are you sure" or they would roll their eyes at me.

[Alpha Strike]

My dad (who was there with my Mom), said that the only notice of a problem was when the Bike went 'BANG' And sent the driver flying.

Anyhow, as for where I'm going with all of this; Remember how some vehicles have Transverse-mounted Engines (Eg. Honda Odyssey)? Be nice to them; otherwise the passenger compartment is in the line of fire for half the cylinders.

I don't doubt that repairs gone wrong can kill and that racing and/or modified vehicles can be quite dangerous.

That being said, how many mass-produced cars or bikes are you going to run across that have a problem like this that will so quickly kill you without any warning at all?

(And I'm not being sarcastic here - I'm just really curious.)

[Bosch]

I'm sorry that the people in the OP were women! It makes me ashamed of my gender.

My favorite would be when I was towing cars and I would pull up to a woman driver needing her car towed and she was asking me what the light meant. When I would explain it, most of the time, they would not believe me - I would be able to tell that they didn't believe me because they'd ask, "are you sure" or they would roll their eyes at me.

Hey that is why my old mechanic had the sign he did.

If you are dumb enough to keep driving on it, you deserve a huge repair bill.. My new wing on the shop was built with your money.

And most of the time when a transverse engine goes boom it goes straight down. Yeah boosting and lean fuel don't go together at the race track. It was spectactular! Closed the track for an hour and that lane for another hour to find all the sharpnel and soak up the oil slick that was created.. Or when the clutch in those types of cars go the hood tends to become a pop top lid.. Spectactular

[cinema guy]

When the MIL light is on for more than 5 minutes ...

Wait, your car has a light that warns you about your mother-in-law?

[Drakstern]

"Service Interval"

The light was PROGRAMED to trip every "X" miles reguardless of any other faults to make you take it in and have it checked out. All things considered, not an out-and-out bad thing, but I'm sure it scared a lot of people into spending money they didn't have to.

My sexy little Yaris has one of those.

Half the places I go don't know how to shut it off.

[TTAZ]

Wait, your car has a light that warns you about your mother-in-law?

that would be awesome, but I meant it as Malfunction Indicator Light.

Yes, I know saying "MIL light" is redundant.

I also say "hot water heater".

I'm still not sure why.