What Does The Check Engine Light Mean And What Should You Do About It? 

I think a scanner tool should be built into the car

I think the best explanation I have ever heard is if it is a red light or a flashing light, then you shouldn't drive the vehicle (i.e. red brake light, flashing yellow check engine light, etc.). If it is a yellow light, then it is a warning light, which means you should have it checked out, but you should still be able to drive it home or to a shop.

I've driven cars for years with check engine lights on. Lmao 🤣

Great subject and expertly explained. I'm glad you hit on the "flashing MIL light" being serious. That's important for drivers to know about.

Thanks Mike. I wish more drivers would watch and listen to this video! When a vehicle is towed in to the shop. Why? MIL light came on, then flashed. Driver kept pushing down more on the throttle. So, instead of bringing the vehicle in when the light came on, so the people in the van pool could get another vehicle while this one was being repaired, this one had to be towed in, riders were late to work and I found the cat melted down and the engine couldn't breathe! It was a misfire due to a loose spark plug wire! Office workers!

Thanks again Mike, valuable info as always :) Hope you and your family are keeping healthy, well & safe during these crazy times...

Thank you for this info. May God bless you for sharing most important info. New driver here.

Thanks, Mike! I had this problem late last year in my 2014 Jeep and the user's manual (printed about a decade ago) advised me not to worry if it went off after a few driving cycles. A month or so ago, the MIL started to intermittently light up again and I downloaded the latest digital user's manual, which advised me to get it checked out! The updated user manual provided very different answers. Anyway, I had it diagnosed the other day and the oxygen sensor and a brake sensor will be replaced when the parts arrive. Your video provides reassuring advice. Kudos to you!

Thanks for sharing this information 👍🏼

That check engine light is the greatest salesman that all auto parts stores have. The dealership starts @ $100 and up to read the DTC's while auto parts stores will read the codes for free. "Oh it looks like you need a gas cap or the machine says you need an O2 sensor. And so it goes. The DTC's give you a starting point to diagnose. How YOU read or diagnose the codes can be the difference between a $10 repair or $1000 repair. This is a great video. Thanks for taking the time to post it. 👍

Thank you. Good to know what that light is for. Taking car to garage tomorrow.

Great to know. My old Citroën had a check engine light, but instead of flickering, it would turn on a red light with "stop" written on it. That light was not only replacing the flickering check engine light, but also a reduction in pressure in the hydropneumatic suspension, brake failiure in one circuit, low oil pressure, severe overheating of the engine, etc. "Stop" meant "Stop" and the check engine light meant "check engine soon". I wish other manufacturers would take this as an idea.

Wish we had mechanics like you in my area... Most of these guys around here are pretty much just parts changers

Many thanks, clear and concise information.

Thank you. Very helpful and informative!

Great public service video Mike. Should be playing on a loop in repair shop waiting rooms.

Another excellent video. Again

love the rock auto magnet collection

Thanks Mike.. I called my friend and he told me to ignore. Your video has helped me a lot. I'm calling the mechanic right away. Thanks a lot

Hey thank you for this informative video. I have kia soul 2016, i noticed yesterday that light ON

Nice job, Mike! 👍🍻

Thanks for information , appreciate it all ...

I've got a 90 Toranado it has on board diagnostics they work great

Thanks Mike for the video

The level of mental overload, and being an "essential" is making it super difficult to create content. Glad you're able to do so. Hopefully I can get back to it soon...

From Waukesha, thank you.

Great, thanks!

👍 stay well my friend!

This is pretty much very usefull.

Thanks brother, u talk sense , thx brother, from Belgium Europe, bob🇧🇪🍺👌

Great video, thanks.

Great vid on this Also keep a cheep Obd2 scanner in the car or app on phone so you can read the exact code once you learned how to use the tool.

You have a new subscriber

mY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON thanks for the video now here is my story i drive a 2007 Toyota Mark x its has the 4GR engine this Engine is similar OR almost Similar to the engine in Lexus is250, many years ago i developed a minor problem with transmission Which seemed to clear away by itself the car Would REV so high(4000RPM) and the rev will not match the speed it was engaging gears 1, 2, 3 but omitting 4 ,5,6 reported to mechanic .. all he did was disconnect the negative side of the battery terminal and reconnect it back then the car performed well with no problem Many months later this problem came once in a while and i did resolve it by disconnecting the battery terminal the problem became more and or routine service i asked the dealer to service my gear box by changing the ATF which was done and problem still persisted, one day on routine battery service the technical told me my battery voltage is low(9.0)V There was no Check engine light , no Battery flashing all good) He Said "U NEED TO REPLACE YOUR ALTERNATOR SOON"look like the alternator is not charging well, he allowed me to drive Few weeks later the Starter died and we had to replace it after replacing the STARTER 2 months passed by and the second STARTER ALSO died we replaced it with a new STARTER thereby after 3 months the ALTERNATOR "DIED/FAILED" question 1 WAS THE POOR OR LOW VOLTAGE FROM THE ALTERNATOR CAUSING THE STARTERS TO DIE? 2. WAS THE LOW VOLTAGE ALSO CAUSING THE COMPUTER TO MALFUNCTION we replaced THE ALTERNATOR and on that replacement we got a volt reading of 12.4V now back to the Transmission the problem became more common NOW I HAD to always reset the ECU by disconnecting the negative side of the battery every time i want to drive and when i switch off the car if i have to drive it i have to reset by the same procedure and this became annoying on diagnostic no error code was captured THEN gear box dealer decided we replace the shift solenoid which we did all 8 of them same problem car shift 123 not 456 Very annoying he then decided its an electrical problem then we took to electrician he Scanned said error codep0176( shift body solenoid c remain open) learning p603 engine stall history He said he cannot fix my car because which 2 " am not sure if its the gear box or ECU OR WIRING" GAVE ME MORE HEADACHE 3.Imay be forced to strip off the car and that is too much of a job to do definitely Replaced TIL I SAW THIS VIDEO QUESTION 1 from my history do u think this is an ECU PROBLEM 2.I CANT FIND A TRANSMISSION WIRING DIAGRAM ANYWHERE ON THS CAR WILL CHANGING THE ECU NEW ECU BE A HELP remember the disconnecting and connecting battery terminal to reset then the car wud function well Please help my e mail mikdan2006@yahoo.com mik2013@gmail.com 1 Auto Buddy

Great video

Hi go tech thanks for information and advice im having this problem on my car, engine light appeared i was driving and speed decreased all of sudden i didn't know what to do i kind of panicked 😱😁 , this is very very informative video for me thanks a lot .

Thank You so much

Great quick vid. We got a check engine light for covid19. It was ignored a few months and now here we are. Air is cleaner so that's a plus. Keep rocking those rock auto magnets

Good to know Mike! I just put black tape over it because that thing gets annoying after a while! 😁

Thank you

Hi Mike I have just sent my Mazda3 for a check due to the engine and stability light indicator shown. The mechanic told me I should change the engine mount which cost 300 dollars each on both side. So my question is can this be the case or he just ripping me off?

Good Video . . . Looking at your cabinet behind you it looks like you order lots of parts from Rock Auto because of all the magnets - I too have many of them in my shop .

What you are saying right now is happening to my car now. Do you know a mechanic in AStoria NY?

I talked to your cousin's uncle's friend said he couldn't do it, but he knows a guy out in the sticks who works for beer. Welcome to Wisconsin. :D

I have an issue that says I have a Bad Eccentric Shaft Sensor it just only that I had it diagnosed to my Dealer & the Check Engine light came out so I’m kind confused 🤔 if is the same problem or is another one 😫😫 2012 338i bmw

My MIL light came on yesterday in my Q3 Audi 2020. But it is not flashing. The manual says it can be one of two things: the catalytical converter or the gas fill-up door being loose. Why would Audi assign 2 completely different causes for this? CRAZY.

Thank you...

I call it the high anxiety light, because it is designed to panic people into a taking the car to the garage where someone will plug a computer in delete the fault charge you through the nose you drive off, thinking that the issue has been resolved only to find a couple of days later on it comes again so you have the hippy hippy shake shake where the garages rip you off right left and centre for me. I totally ignore the light when it comes on. It doesn’t affect the power of the car so whatever the issue is it is mine there and I’m not paying garage to plug a computer in the sod all

Oh to go back to the days when computers did not control your car

I hit and went over a big pothole which I couldn’t avoid due to on coming forward traffic.. due to this I lost a bit of control of the car so it took me off the road a bit but managed to drive back on (this was just in seconds) and now my check light flash is on

Hello I have the engine ligt turned on my vw golf hatchback 2013, what may be the issue. Earlier the same day I had the gas cap turning on. I fixed that and when I was going back home the engine light turn on.

Thank u bro

Oh ya. I hope you and your family are all well. Take Care, Stay Safe.

Hello yesterday yellow check engine light came in my bmw 330i xdrive. I used the OBD2 scaner to scan it and found one code “P13c0”. What does it mean and should i go to mechanic or should i erase it ?

Mine turn off all of the sudden how weird.. didn't turn on anymore maybe cuz I started my truck and didn't warm it up and left liked that I noticed that later I parked it for alot of hrs and turned it on and icon wasn't there anymore how weird.. I checked oil everything and everything okay how weird..

mines is on sometimes and off sometimes. been so for 5 years

Hi, on my car that is emmissions warning, check engine light has a wrench superimposed on the same icon.

Hey, Go tech team, your diagnostic training video is really great! Can we have a chance to do something great video together? Your professionalism is what we need. Thanks, maybe we can have a long-term cooperation in the future.

Po447 and po448 corrossion pcm 06 sti 1800 dollars to replace and match up keys. Prior po442 and 456 bought autool smoke machine fixed myself bad charcoal canister, bad purge solenoid and 2 vacuum hoses. Big pain and big money spent total 3300 dollars

Yesterday I did the state inspection, everything was fine and I pass it. The next day the check light came on, what could have happened?

The Money Light! Maybe it should be green?

Hey Mike i have a off topic question for you. What would cause a car to have these trim numbers? STFT -28 LTFT -28 then 5 seconds later it jumps to STFT -15 LTFT -10 and about a minute later it shows STFT +20 LTFT +15. I found it odd that STFT and LTFT jumped to -28 at exactly the same time. Could a faulty O2 cause these kind of reading? or perhaps a bad computer? had a dtc for system too lean but looking at the data it also runs rich somtimes.

How do I solve this the check engine light blinking problem..

Hola, soy de perú, no se puede configurar los subtitulos a español.

I was going a 125 miles an hour And I use the Breaks Then all of a sudden I couldn't go anywhere it was like the transmission was stuck in neutral. So I put the car in neutral and coasted off of the highway. I turned the vehicle off and turned it back on the and I could shift the gears again. Now my check engine light is on..

Hey Mike. The check engine light on my 1992 Volvo 960, which has less than 100,00 miles, recently started to remain on. What could possibly cause this to happen? Could it be the transmission fluid needs to be changed or is there a part that needs to be replaced?

If you have the check engine light and your vehicle is going in backwards what do you do

My MIL on my 2012 polo 1.2tsi came on for about 5 start ups then it goes off for a certain amount of start ups and so on. The only code thats up is a 0447 for function limitation voltage to high

I got traction control light along with malfunction indicator lamp/check engine light 🤔

Good video Mike, I just got a Honda CRV 2011 model, and at one point the check engine light turned on and after 3 days I believe (I didn't drive it I had another car my grandma's car) I took it to my dealership who sold me the car and the light went away, a couple weeks later (which is now) the light turned back on.

Thank you so much for the video. I kinda understood it but I have a question. In our car, this engine sign wasn't blinking and when we went to Honda Service, they told us that I think, not sure, oxygen censor was wet due to car going through flooded roads and said its something to do with oxygen. So, my question is, in this case, do you think the engine is broken due to oxygen thing being wet due to floods and heavy rain, or there is different cause?

My check engine light in my Montero Sport won't stay off. I have taken it to 4 different mechanics and none of them can properly figure out what's wrong. Even with a computer. Between the 4 mechanics, the car has probably spent at least a month total in the shop with still no answers. What should I do?? I'm out of ideas other than just driving it off a cliff and hopefully then that light will turn off!

I noticed the dodge starter was installed when i got the caravan

Change all your fuel or gas filter specially inside tank or near tank...

I din get you please Explain in practical too

Dealership service department told me they reset it because they couldn’t find anything wrong and it’s still periodically comes on and today,y car acting like it’s trying to cutoff

Agreed, Scanner tool is so cheap, they ought to be on without going to a garage, but that is why they are not.

Mines been on for months don’t know why but my car runs the same as it always did

mike where are you can I bring my truck to you?in CA

Could new spark plugs cause the warning light?

You should first plug in your "Fixed" diagnostic dongle so you know exactly what is wrong so the mechanic won't be able to rip you off 😂. Just kidding. Have a blessed and safe week to you and your family.

The problem could be in the instrument panel cluster itself.

What does it mean when the check engine light appears and disappears only to appear after about a week or so and disappears again?🤷

My Honda Civic tells me to check emission system and the transmission but when I turn off the car and turn it back on the check transmission disappears

Hello, my check engine light came on and is steady, I have been hearing a clanking sound coming from the front near the tyres. I was advised to use the scanner to check for issues which I did and it found no fault codes, then I was advised to delete the codes and see if the check engine light comes back on but it didn't but I still hear the clanking when driving at a slow speed, this goes away once I speed up. HELP!!!!!!!!! this is my first car which is a hybrid

I just got a flashing check engine light 😩😩😩,so what’s next? Replace my Cadillac converter?

PSA's ??? Not what I prefer but if I can use it in my waiting room I'll quit complaining !!!

Explains why I have an engine light on with an Evap leak lol

2 years later same thing come on again lmao. Not blinking, but It's a refurbished engine - I need a new car - I got back home this time and It was leaking bad when I got back

I’ve taken my Chevy Spark in and they can’t find the problem. Ugh!

How to fix it

I filled my car with petrol on wed night, thursday morning I saw my check light blinking, god I just hope it's gas cap thingy

Mechanics charge more than what they supposed to get , we have to invent something a driver can fix his car easily

Wouldnt my cousins uncles friend by my dads friend?

How to fix check engine light

if the light is on the electrical tape fell off lol

Isn’t your cousin’s uncle’s friend probably just your dad’s friend? 😅

also known as the Idiot light.

Do nothing just carry on drive

get to the point instead of beating round the bush - jesus