My car's engine light is shining?

Question

I have a Hyundai Accent, if that makes any difference, and the "check engine" sign went on today. What exactly does that mean? I have to drive 30 minutes to class and back tomorrow, is that safe?

Answer 1

tons of things can cause the check engine like to go on. If there are problems with ur engine. the light will be on. this is the time where u need to bring it to the shop to find out what is the problem.

ps. when is the last time u changed the motor oil?

Answer 2

It means you have to take your vehicle to a mechanic where they will hook up a computer to your car which will decipher the code given by the "check engine" alert and this will tell the mechanic what is wrong with your car.  It costs money for the diagnostic test, and it could be one of many things.  When that light comes on, it's telling you that you need to run a diagnostic.

Answer 3

Take the car into a repair shop and have the codes in the computer read, the light means a sensor or something is out of range and pops on the light to tell you, when u have the codes read, they will tell you whats wrong and after its repaired, they can reset the light or it will go off on its own.

Answer 4

If it sounded louder you probably have an intake or exhaust leak. The two main paths of noise from the engine are the intake and exhaust and the intake usually ha a resonator or two, if somehow the intake became loose or a hole formed in it you could expect it to be louder. Similarly if your exhaust exits before it gets to the muffler engine noise will be heard louder.

These aren't the only possibilities though. I've seen misfiring engines make more noise than a properly running one.

Answer 5

ya its pretty safe, 90% of the time they go off for no reason and it just needs to be reset. If it starts driving funny or you hear any wierd noises, have it looked at. Otherwise, just take it in to get it reset.

Enjoy your studies!!!

Answer 6

The "check engine" light is connected to the car's engine fuel management computer. This is the computer that runs the fuel injectors, reads the engine sensors, etc. The oxygen sensors are used by the ECM to determine how accurately it's injecting the fuel, and adjusting the way the fuel is injected to compensate for changing conditions. When the computer inside the ECM detects that there is something wrong, the ECM turns on the "check engine" light.

It doesn’t mean something cataclysmic is about to happen, just that the computer that runs a lot of the functions in your engine is getting some bad information.

Answer 7

The reality is there are litteraly hundreds of things that could cause the check engine light to come on. The only way to know is to get a scan of the car and see what the failure code is. That will give you a very good idea what is going wrong.

Answer 8

The "Check Engine" light comes on to let you know that the cars computer is not getting all the information it wants about you engines vitals.

It could be as simple as a loose gas cap or as complex as a sensor failing. If you take it to an auto parts store that offers free code reading they can read your cars computer to find out what error code has caused the light to come on and give you some direction as to what you need to do to repair it.

It is okay to drive, but it will not be as efficient because the computer is having to use a default position to compensate for the error state.

Good Luck!