When the Idiot Light says check engine on your dash, do you take your car in right away if it still starts and runs okay?
by 
DudeLer
ANSWERS: 5
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If you don't, then you're an idiot. Your car is trying to tell you that something is wrong. You should listen.
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I give it a quick diagnosis. Check the gauges immediately, throttle response, brake response, steering, etc. Pull over when safe, pop the hood, take a look. Check oil level, master cylinder fluid level, gas cap tightly closed, coolant level. If it still runs fine then I will head back home and run diagnostics on it. I saved $89 last time because the only problem was a loose spark plug causing a misfire. If I had taken it in they would've charged min. $89 for diagnostics. Decided to change all the spark plugs while I was at it so it only cost me about $20, and I got 4 new plugs. For the lamen however, I would still suggest taking the vehicle in immediately if not sooner. Find out what's wrong, then go from there.
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I check to make sure my gas cap is locked in place (that triggers the idiot light in some models) and if it is, off to the mechanic I go.
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I always assumed the Check Engine light just meant you should check and make sure the engine's still there. Seriously, though: Sometimes it's just a simple fix that can save me the 90 bucks they charge just to have the computer diagnose it. Once I accidentally loosened one of the sensor plugs while changing my air filter. Took me a few minutes to figure it out, but I'm not paying some guy a bunch of money just to go "<SNAP> Ok problem solved." If I can't figure it out myself, yeah, I'll take it in.
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I am independent, financially stable, and self-actualized adult...... But when that light goes *DING*........I call my Daddy. My Daddy always knows exactly what to do to make the bad light go away;)
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