your 'check engine light' comes on....

[WalterMitty]

discuss.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

My "maintenance required" light has been on for a month and my dad hasn't been able to detect anything wrong with the card.

[Türkisblau]

Option 2 as I know nothing about cars.

[© tweed]

I have a mechanic that's been running his own 'business' out of his garage/backyard for decades.  my family's been using his since the late 1970s.  "meeting R***** was one of the best thing to come out of my marriage", so says my mother, who met R***** through my father, to whom she was married from 1983 through 1997.

so I'd call him.

[WalterMitty]

My "maintenance required" light has been on for a month and my dad hasn't been able to detect anything wrong with the card.

that is different than the check engine light, as i understand it.

[Mr. Smith]

Option 3, I know enough people who could do it for cheaper and it gives me an excuse to bike everywhere, which is much nicer than driving anyway.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

because i am a rookie driver, every small inconvenience thrusts me into panic.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Option 4.  I have a purely utilitarian view on cars.  Maybe option 2 if the light coincides with a noise or vibration.  Option one if all hell breaks loose.  

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Option 4, because both my cars ran without any engine issues for years after the damn thing first popped on.  Any little thing sets it off so I tend to just not give a ****.

[Indy Texas]

When I get home, pull out my diagnostic code reader, plug it into the port under the steering wheel, look at the code that comes up on the display and look said code up online. Proceed to mechanic shop.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Mine has been on for months. I'll assume all is well until it isn't well.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Option 4 for me because I know the probable cause is I didn't get the gas cap on just right.  Mine has gotten finicky in its old age.

[Brewer]

Option 2 as I know nothing about cars.

[dead0man]

Like IndyTX, I have one of these (ODBII dongle).  App on the phone tells me what the code is, the internet tells me what it means, I judge the urgency and whether or not anything needs to be done about it, then I cancel it (the app does that too...I use Torque.).  My Mazda 3 has a stuck open thermostat, not that big of a deal really.  It never gets up to the proper operating temp when cold is the only issue.  I'd change it myself (I've changed several over the years in other cars), but it's in a stupid spot that I don't want to get to, but not hard enough that I want to pay somebody else to do it....soooooo, it remains.

[Joe Republic]

Option 1.  The car's probably a lost cause, so I usually pull over, set fire to the car, and walk the rest of the way.  I'll buy a new one at the earliest opportunity.

[angus]

Option 2.  I wouldn't pull over immediately unless something was really weird, but I'd call a brand-authorized shop within a couple of days.  Wouldn't want to void the warranty, and in any case they'd give me a loaner if they needed to keep my car overnight so it wouldn't cut into my travels.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

It's almost always the gas cap or some screwy sensor and not a big deal.

[Tender Branson]

Error, error ! Can't process "check engine light comes on" ...

I drive quality cars, made in Germany. So this has never happened to me before.

If it indeed comes on, I would drive to the car repair as soon as possible - because if you don't and your car breaks down in the middle of the road and someone crashes into your trunk, your insurance probably won't pay up.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Error, error ! Can't process "check engine light comes on" ...

I drive quality cars, made in Germany. So this has never happened to me before.

If it indeed comes on, I would drive to the car repair as soon as possible - because if you don't and your car breaks down in the middle of the road and someone crashes into your trunk, your insurance probably won't pay up.

And considering what's in YOUR trunk ends up in your basement, we wouldn't want any cops around if the trunk got hit.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Error, error ! Can't process "check engine light comes on" ...

I drive quality cars, made in Germany. So this has never happened to me before.

LOL.

German cars are not especially more reliable than other first-world cars. This can be confirmed by looking at any of the outfits that track reliability statistics - Consumer Reports, JD Power, etc.

The real issue is that Americans are harsher on their cars than Europeans - they drive them longer distances, often in harsher conditions. Plus they often don't maintain them as well - in Europe there are required regular maintenance inspections, so your car has to see the inside of a mechanic regularly. Most American states have nothing like this, so people leave niggling little issues unattended and only take the car in when something serious breaks (as evidenced by the numerous people this thread who would just keep driving with a "check engine" light on).

[Cory]

My "check engine" light has always been on since before I even owned the truck.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

You can self diagnose a check engine light with a $20 gadget off Amazon and a smartphone, you know.

[NeverAgain]

Option 3, I know enough people who could do it for cheaper and it gives me an excuse to bike everywhere, which is much nicer than driving anyway.