5 Reasons Your Check Engine Light Might Come On

Ahh, you’ve got the windows down, the music up, and you’re enjoying your ride home from work when you notice a pretty orange little on your dashboard, and no it’s not just a decoration, it’s the dreaded Check Engine Light! And there goes all the peace you had, and mass amounts of stress rolls in, like first off why me?! And then you think rational, and then you think oh my gosh how much is this going to cost me?? Take a big breath, then release, IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY! There can actually be a lot of reason your Check Engine Light might come on and they won’t all break the banks!

Reasons:

1. You need to replace your Oxygen Sensor:

• Your oxygen sensor measures the amount of unburned oxygen in your vehicle’s exhaust system.
• If you don’t replace it a hand full of things could happen
  • Your engine will burn more fuel than what needs to be, resulting in you spending more on gas
  • You will lose fuel economy, and get fewer miles per gallon
  • Faulty sensor(s) can cause damage to your spark plugs and catalytic converter, costing you more money!

2. Your gas cap is loose, missing, or damaged:

• Your gas cap seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. It also prevents gasoline fumes from being released into the atmosphere while you aren’t driving your car.
• If you don’t get this fixed you’ll find yourself heading to the gas tank more often due to your gas evaporating!

3. You have a bad catalytic converter:

• This helps protect the amount of air entering the engine to determine how much fuel is needed to run your engine efficiently
• If you don’t replace it a hand full of things could happen
  • Your car will fail an emissions test
  • You will experience poor fuel economy and performance
  • Your car could run at a higher temperature causing it to overheat

4. Time to replace your Mass AirFlow Sensor:

• This measures the amount of air entering the engine to determine how much fuel is needed to run the engine
• If you don’t resolve this problem you could experience these things:
  • Faulty sensors can cause damage to spark plugs, O2 sensors or catalytic converter
  • You will also experience reduced performance and fuel economy

5. Your Vehicle Needs New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires:

• These plugs ignite the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your car. The wires deliver the spark from the ignition to the spark plug
• If you don’t resolve these issues you could damage your car for the following reasons:
  • Worn plugs and plug wires can cause a clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors
  • You will also experience poor performance and reduced fuel economy

There are several reasons why your Check Engine Light could be on, and they all vary in price. If you find that bright orange light is shining brightly on your dashboard you might want to get your car looked at. Once you’ve been told what the issue is, do your research and see if it might be something you could do yourself to save money, but if you can not make sure to service your car. Safety is the number one priority inside your car, make sure that the work is done correctly and by a professional, it will be worth it down the road!