Why Driving Your Vehicle Can Turn Off Your Check Engine Light

Was your vehicle just repaired, but the check engine light is still lit on the dashboard? Nancy explains how driving your vehicle can fix it!

Transcript:

Why was my check engine light on when I just got my vehicle repaired?

Nothing is worse than being bugged by that pesky light, especially if you spend all that money to repair the issue and turn it off.

Hi, I’m Nancy at Kneble’s Auto Service Center.

I get your frustration.

What if I told you your car might not be broken and need another auto repair to turn out that light?

Before you curse out your auto technician, and I tell you why, pick a moment to relax about that light, and like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and check out our YouTube channel.

Your check engine light is triggered when your powertrain control module, commonly referred to as a PCM, detects a problem.

Now, the PCM is like the brain of your vehicle. It monitors the functions of the engine and transmission, the two components of the powertrain.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how the light works, understand that the check engine light may still be on even after your vehicle has been repaired.

Spoiler alert, this is normal.

For the PCM to monitor the powertrain, the computer needs to see each system to detect no further problems.

This is where a drive cycle comes into play.

Well, just like repairing your laptop, all it usually takes is rebooting your computer.

Still, in this case, your PCM, or your car’s computer, monitors each component before getting a notification that it is operating correctly.

The drive cycle refers to driving your vehicle anywhere from 50 to 100 miles before the PCM can monitor each system and determine that the repair has fixed the problem, hence the check engine like going out.

Check out my other video, which explains the drive cycle in further detail.

Thank you for watching, and look for a video every Wednesday.

Call for your appointment at (609) 625-3286, or schedule it online through our website.

We are located here at 5473 Somers Point Road in Mays Landing, and you got it, of course, next to Freddy J’s Bar & Kitchen.

Thank you for watching.