That check engine light is the last one you ever want to see shining out from your dashboard, right? Clark’s Professional Car Care totally understands and wants you to know what to do if you ever see this in your car.
Take Stock of What Else Is Happening
Once you’ve got the check engine light staring you in the face, you might need a minute to take a deep breath. But once you do, remember to take a look at the rest of the dashboard and anything else that might give you information. If there are other warning lights, they can give you some valuable data about what might be contributing to the check engine light situation.
Listen to the Car
In order to see the light, your car is already on. So, take a moment and listen to the car as it runs. What are you hearing? Are any of the sounds unusual ones from your car? If the AC or heat are on, turn it off. That can help you to hear other sounds that might be useful in figuring out what’s going on. All of this is valuable information you can use.
Check Some Simple Things
Sometimes there’s nothing new or unusual happening other than seeing that check engine light. Think about what’s happened recently. One solution that car owners often overlook is that they’ve just gotten gas and the gas cap isn’t fully sealed. Try tightening that cap or remove it and put it back. Make sure it clicks and is fully sealed and then check to see if that resets the light. If it does, that’s great news. If not, you need to take some action.
Don’t Pretend it Isn’t Lit Up
The really important thing to remember with the check engine light is that you can’t ignore it and hope that it just turns itself off. That’s not typically going to happen and if it does, it probably did so because the car’s engine died. It’s time to take your car in to the shop and have someone accurately diagnose the problem.
You don’t have to panic if you see the check engine light. There’s probably a simple explanation and Clark’s Professional Car Care in Pascagoula, MS can help you to diagnose the problem. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to set up an appointment and run some diagnostic testing. Once you know what’s happening, you can make the best decisions for your car.
