Enging light on...trying not to freak out.

[lttlmc3]

I have an 02 New Beetle. The heat wasn't working very well, so I took it in to be looked at. What I though was a heater core issue turned out to be a bad thermostat. After a $200 fix the heat worked and I was happy and left the shop. Then, less than ten minutes down the road, the engine light came on!
I called the shop, but it had closed for the weekend already. Anyone know anything about cars? Should I be preparing myself for a costly fix?

 

[dpswift]

You never know. The engine light can mean anything from gas cover not being closed to a senser or more best to stay calm until it can be looked at.

 

[supersnoop]

Is the light red or yellow? Red means stop driving, you'll break the car. Yellow means go get it checked out, it might run rough but won't hurt anything but the environment. You can go to autozone and have them read the codes to tell you what's wrong.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Is the light red or yellow? Red means stop driving, you'll break the car. Yellow means go get it checked out, it might run rough but won't hurt anything but the environment. You can go to autozone and have them read the codes to tell you what's wrong.

Is that a beetle or VW specific thing?
With my cars a flashing check engine light means stop driving.

 

[lttlmc3]

It's not flashing or red. Just a yellow light. For good measure, I'm still not driving it. I'd hate to make something worse. I'm going to wait and take it straight back to the mechanic that put in the thermostat. I'm really hoping maybe something loosened when they put in the new thermostat, but this is nerve wrecking!

 

[dryvithome]

Autozone and O'reilly's will read the code for free and tell you what the problem is, if there is one nearby you.

 

[tvguy]

Is that a beetle or VW specific thing?
With my cars a flashing check engine light means stop driving.

Every car built for sale in the U.S. since the mid-1980s has one. Required by the EPA to tell you something that is a part of your smog system isn't working right. I suspect in your repair either a wire got knocked loose, or they put the wrong thermostat on. It probably isn't letting the engine run hot enough. Cars have to run hot now to burn cleanly.
It is not a "do not drive" situation, it is a "get it looked at eventually" situation.
If you live in a state where smog checks are required, it has to be fixed to pass. If the car is a 2002, it won't be the gas cap, cars after model year 2000 have to have a different light to tell you your gas cap isn't on tight. That's so gasoline fumes don't escape and cause pollution.
I threw a lot of money away at the dealer with my 1987 when that light came on getting it checked. Now I ignore it until I need an oil change, and my independent mechanic usually just reads the code, resets the warning light, and if it doesn't come back on, and it usually doesn't, we forget about it.
Now, my 2003 Focus I take to the dealer when the check engine light comes on because it is a PZEV (Patrical Zero Emissions Vehicle) and in California, the auto maker has to fix anything that causes that light to come on for free on a PZEV vehicle for 15 years or 150,000 miles.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Mine came on recently and they replaced the gas cap...prob solved.

 

[usd2bmd]

Have you recently put gas in it? For me personally, every time my engine light has come on, it has been because the gas cap isn't sealing. My mechanic is awesome, we replaced it once, but every other time he was able to just wipe it down and put Vaseline on it and it's fine. I will probably have to replace it again at some point but it isn't an expensive fix.

Hope it is nothing major.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Agree go to Autozone and have them read the code for free.

 

[Judique]

Have you recently put gas in it? For me personally, every time my engine light has come on, it has been because the gas cap isn't sealing. My mechanic is awesome, we replaced it once, but every other time he was able to just wipe it down and put Vaseline on it and it's fine. I will probably have to replace it again at some point but it isn't an expensive fix.

Hope it is nothing major.

Same here. I'm on my third gas cap. The plastic string thing that holds it from falling when you are fueling got wound up in the threads and I think it damaged the first one. Then I bought a cheapie from Auto Zone but it would still not seal because it had a movable gasket, but now no problems so far with the third from Napa.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

The time my check engine light came on, it turned out it was just my brother not getting the radiator cap back on correctly. I noticed the cap was a bit crooked when I was checking thing out, put it back on straight and the light went away.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Every car built for sale in the U.S. since the mid-1980s has one. Required by the EPA to tell you something that is a part of your smog system isn't working right. I suspect in your repair either a wire got knocked loose, or they put the wrong thermostat on. It probably isn't letting the engine run hot enough. Cars have to run hot now to burn cleanly.
It is not a "do not drive" situation, it is a "get it looked at eventually" situation.
If you live in a state where smog checks are required, it has to be fixed to pass. If the car is a 2002, it won't be the gas cap, cars after model year 2000 have to have a different light to tell you your gas cap isn't on tight. That's so gasoline fumes don't escape and cause pollution.
I threw a lot of money away at the dealer with my 1987 when that light came on getting it checked. Now I ignore it until I need an oil change, and my independent mechanic usually just reads the code, resets the warning light, and if it doesn't come back on, and it usually doesn't, we forget about it.
Now, my 2003 Focus I take to the dealer when the check engine light comes on because it is a PZEV (Patrical Zero Emissions Vehicle) and in California, the auto maker has to fix anything that causes that light to come on for free on a PZEV vehicle for 15 years or 150,000 miles.

This. If you're worried go to auto zone to get it checked for free. You don't need to stop driving it immediately.

 

[msmayor]

I drove almost 7,000 miles with a check engine light on. My mechanic told me a long time ago that if the car seems to be running fine and the light isn't blinking its normally just an emissions issue and will only mean the car emissions are off.

When I finally got the time to take it in, it was just a bad sensor that needed replacing.

 

[Katy Belle]

DS17 had that warning light come on. He had screwed the gas cap on crooked.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

Every car built for sale in the U.S. since the mid-1980s has one. Required by the EPA to tell you something that is a part of your smog system isn't working right. I suspect in your repair either a wire got knocked loose, or they put the wrong thermostat on. It probably isn't letting the engine run hot enough. Cars have to run hot now to burn cleanly. It is not a "do not drive" situation, it is a "get it looked at eventually" situation. If you live in a state where smog checks are required, it has to be fixed to pass. If the car is a 2002, it won't be the gas cap, cars after model year 2000 have to have a different light to tell you your gas cap isn't on tight. That's so gasoline fumes don't escape and cause pollution. I threw a lot of money away at the dealer with my 1987 when that light came on getting it checked. Now I ignore it until I need an oil change, and my independent mechanic usually just reads the code, resets the warning light, and if it doesn't come back on, and it usually doesn't, we forget about it. Now, my 2003 Focus I take to the dealer when the check engine light comes on because it is a PZEV (Patrical Zero Emissions Vehicle) and in California, the auto maker has to fix anything that causes that light to come on for free on a PZEV vehicle for 15 years or 150,000 miles.

My car is a 2006 and the check engine light will come on. Therefore it's not true that all cars after 2000 have a separate light. The other day my engine light came on and the fuel injectors needed to be changed. $685!!

 

[drinkme]

I heard that most of the time it is the gas cap. The gas cap either isn't on properly, or it needs to be replaced. If you have to have a vehicle emissions test, then it needs to get looked at before you can pass.

The next time you go to get the oil changed, have them hook it up to their machine that reads the codes.

 

[twinmommyks]

Have a 07 Toyota and my check engine light comes on when it is time for an oil change. First it flashes and then turns solid after about a week of driving. Also, didn't have gas cap tightened & the light came on. On my DS Ford, his gas cap wouldn't seal & the check engine light came on. Another time, I had an oil change completed and the light didn't go off. So I took it back to the service dept. & the mechanic forgot to reset the light.

I always panic when the light comes on but so far it hasn't been anything major.

 

[disneychrista]

I think it funny that the gas dap can cause it to turn on my 2014 Ford car doesn't even have a gas cap.

My 2000 Toyota has never had the check engine light come on.

 

[tvguy]

My car is a 2006 and the check engine light will come on. Therefore it's not true that all cars after 2000 have a separate light. The other day my engine light came on and the fuel injectors needed to be changed. $685!!

What make and model car? I'll look it up and find out where that warning light is on your car. EPA required separate check gas cap and check engine lights beginning with the 2000 model year because soooo many people felt having a loose gas cap trigger the check engine light was forcing them to spend money when all they had to do was tighten the gas cap.