The check engine light is often the harbinger of bad news. Let me paint a scene…
You’re driving to work. You can’t afford to be late, because there’s an important meeting with a client who could give your company an insane amount of business. Your presentation is a key part of closing the deal. If you succeed, a raise and promotion might be in your future. Sweet!
While you’re daydreaming about what you’re going to do with all that extra money (new car?), your check engine light turns on. Your mind goes to panic mode. “I REALLY need to be there for this meeting… but what if driving puts my car in jeopardy?” Tough question!
How urgent is a check engine light related repair? It depends.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know what the check engine light is trying to tell you without a diagnostic scan. Most “check engine light” related problems don’t require immediate attention (good news for the driver in this hypothetical situation!).
Please don’t read that as an excuse to procrastinate! Driving in spite of a check engine light for days or weeks (or months) could cause serious damage. Get your car checked out ASAP.
In the meanwhile, here are five common causes of the check engine light (and what to do about it). Cross your fingers and hope for #2…
1. You need a new oxygen sensor.
A lot of people like to “detox.” For different people, that means different things. It could mean fasting, drinking a nutritious shake, or avoiding alcohol/caffeine for a certain amount of time. Regardless of the method, people detox to get the junk out of their system.
No two parts of your vehicle work in isolation. It takes a coordinated effort to get you moving. Your oxygen sensor works in sync with the catalytic converter. If oxygen sensors are peanut butter, catalytic converters are jelly. They go better together!
Catalytic converters are like kidneys for your car. They reduce the toxicity of emissions before releasing them into the atmosphere. Without a working catalytic converter, your car would do a LOT more damage to the environment.
If your catalytic converter is a football team, the oxygen sensor is its coach. Oxygen sensors analyze the ratio of air and fuel in your engine. It passes that info to the catalytic converter, so it can act accordingly.
No matter how talented a team is, they would lose badly without guidance from an objective observer. The same is true for your catalytic converter. In fact, it can’t function without oxygen sensors!
Pay close attention to your gas mileage. If you start having to fuel up more than usual, that could mean something is wrong with your oxygen sensor.
An oxygen sensor malfunction can cause gas mileage to drop by 40%. It only costs $200 to repair an oxygen sensor.
You might be thinking, “Only?!” You’ll see why that cost isn’t a big deal when you get to #3…
2. You need to tighten your fuel cap.
Most drivers freak out when the check engine light turns on. This is a great illustration of why that isn’t a useful reaction. Sometimes it’s a tiny, insignificant thing. Don’t assume the worst!
Serious car problems don’t come out of nowhere. They tend to be accompanied by strange sounds, scents, and other sensations. If there’s nothing like that, please resist the urge to panic.
Your fuel cap might need to be replaced. That only costs a few dollars. It might just need to be tightened. You can do that in seconds without spending a penny. Easy fixes are the best!
Of course, everyone isn’t so lucky. Stop your car, kill the ignition, take off your fuel cap, and screw it back on as tightly as possible. If that doesn’t work, go see a mechanic soon.
3. You need to replace your catalytic converter.
Did you see that coming? (If not, go read point #1 more carefully and you’ll see what I mean.) Catalytic converts don’t die without cause. They are killed by neglect. And it’s a slow process!
As long as you get your broken oxygen sensor repaired within a reasonable amount of time, your catalytic converter will be fine. Otherwise, brace yourself for a big repair bill…
Moral of the story: don’t procrastinate about auto care (unless you want to turn a $200 repair into a $1,000+ one). If that happens, you can only blame yourself!
4. You need to swap in a new set of spark plugs.
Depending on how long you keep your car, you might never have to worry about spark plugs. They last 100,000+ miles on modern vehicles. Check your owner’s manual for a more specific recommendation.
Want to join the 200,000 mile club? In that case, you’ll probably need new spark plugs at some point. I recommend getting them at least 1,000 miles early just to be safe.
If spark plugs go bad while you’re driving, they could cause damage to critical engine parts including your catalytic converter. Worth the risk? I don’t think so!
5. You need to get your mass airflow sensor checked out.
I bet you can guess what the mass airflow sensor (MAF) does. (Hint: it’s hidden in the name!) That’s right… it senses the mass of air flowing through your engine.
Why bother? Because your engine doesn’t have to work as hard when you get the mixture of air and fuel “just right.” Preserving energy saves you money!
A MAF malfunction can have a detrimental impact on both your emissions and fuel economy, so get it fixed fast.
Pay attention! If your engine stalls at the time of your check engine light, you might have a MAF problem.
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