| Subject: | check engine light |
| Question: | Is it dangerous/unsafe
to drive the car after the "check engine" light comes on?
I have a 1994 Expo with automatic transmission; it has been running
rough at idle and "bucking" when driving @ 2000-2500 rpm
for some time now, but the ck eng light just came on yesterday evening.
I've taken it to the dealer about the "bucking" problem,
and was told that the trans was "hunting" (shifting out/in0;
they adjusted the "transmission's computer", but didn't solve
the problem. The "bucking" problem may not be related to
the "ck eng" light problem, I don't know. |
| Answer: | Allen, The dealership should be able to pull computer codes from your car's main computer which will tell them why the check engine light (CEL) is on. If you want to get a free CEL evaluation, take your car to an AutoZone if you have one in your area. They will hook up a dagnostics scanner and check your CEL for you. They should be able to pull whatever codes your computer has stored in it. Sometimes they can only read the codes, but not the exact problem. In that case, tell the dealership the codes that were found from the scanner and they will find your problem. "Bucking" is usually caused by improper air flow or an ignition problem. I'm not sure if the dealership inspected those areas, but hopefully they did. You may want to go back there and ask them exactly what they did. But to answer your actual question, no, driving with the CEL on is not dangerous/unsafe. You are safe, but your engine is not. Get that problem fixed asap. For everyday that CEL light is on and not being fixed, it'll probably cost you an additional $20 per day in labor costs. If they simply can't find the problem, you can refer them to this
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