Why You Need a Professional to Diagnose Your Check Engine Light

Nancy explains why scanning your own check engine light codes does not provide all the details in repairing your vehicle.

Transcript:

Most likely at one time or another, you have seen that pesky check engine light show up on your dashboard. Don’t ignore that light even though I know some of you out there want to use tape to hide the light. Hi, I’m Nancy at Kneble’s Auto Service Center. The check engine light can be caused by a litany of different problems, from a sensor being faulty to a bad gas cap or even a running condition problem like misfiring. Now, if you have someone who uses a handheld scanner to obtain the code from the computer, be aware that not all scanners are the same. Professional sophisticated scanners, now, they can scan your computer more in-depth and get all the codes, even history or pending codes.

Now, once you obtain your code or codes, you will still need to have your vehicle diagnosed for the repair. The code from the scanner will not necessarily tell you the part to replace, as it only gives you an area of the problem. A technician will follow the proper diagnostic steps to determine what is needed to correct the problem, so don’t just replace parts. Be aware that a flashing check engine light, that should not be driven as you don’t want to do further damage to your vehicle, so schedule your vehicle to be diagnosed with your auto technician. Have your vehicle properly diagnosed so you’re getting the correct repair, and that check engine light will no longer be looking back at you. Check out every Wednesday at 12:30 to view a different topic addressed, such as getting your driving test or bulb options to put your car. Thank you for watching.