45% of americans do not care if their check engine light is on .
 

I just heard this on the radio tonight, and had a little chuckle .
Any of you? I put probably 30k on my 2500 Hd with the check engine light on.

Last time my check engine light came on I looked under the hood. It was still there.
Good enough for me.

Kind of hard to ignore when it is accompanied with X amount of starts left until engine is disabled......Thank you EPA, putzes....

I've found that a half inch piece of electrical tape fixes that pesky warning light

I used to own an Audi, so yes, I've driven with a CEL light on.
But on today's cars, isn't this all a bunch of BS? Just about every vehicle made today has some sort of screen on it, just tell me the error. Start the engine - the screen lights up - small evap leak - check your gas cap? or misfire bank 1 - you might want to get that checked out. Why, in this age of computerized everything, do we get nothing more than a light? Tell us the error, and maybe a "This isn't a big deal" "You should get this checked soon" and "Shut the engine off, I'm broken" level of severity.
Or for those of us who might still drive a VAG product, at least put a 2 digit counter next to the light, because the number is never zero.

I suppose my opinion would depend on the reason for that lit CEL. I had one on for about 2-3 yrs due to some stupid Evap Purge Valve. Didn't affect the operation or safety of the car, so I ignored it until I had to get the car smogged once again. Then I replaced it while doing some other routine maintenance that allowed me easy access to that thing. On the bright side, there is probably some merit to that doohickey, because my mileage improved by 3-4 mpg.

This little light of mine.
I'm gonna let it shine

Not in the last 10-15 years at least.

In years past, when I was driving cars that probably cost $1k- 3.5k, yeah, those may have had check engine lights on from time to time. Hell, I had an '87 Pontiac Grand Am with a 2.5L that had a cracked head, that I drove for at least a year, probably 2 with the cracked head. I'd put some ground pepper in the radiator and top up frequently. It ran the same as it ever had pre-crack. I sold it to someone that drove it like that for at least a year before it got T-boned.

I've got a OBDII scanner, but yeah, it's crazy that you can't get to a screen in the car for it to tell you the codes so you don't need a scanner.

ROFLMAO!!

Thanks

Nope. I care more about CEL than I do about my aching joints.

I don't even let my tire pressure get uneven.

rjp

Until you get a new vehicle that are dealership only codes not associated with the cel.

My rule of thumb. If the cel ain't blinking, and there's no red idiot lights. Good to go.

From the auction description of the new Volvo I bought.

My Silverado has had it's "check engine" light on for the past 5+ years.....still plugging away........225K on the clock....

45% of americans do not care if their check engine light is on .
 

Well, no CEL on my 911. Never leaked antifreeze, or power steering fluid and the ABS system is total maintenance free. The tire pressure monitor is the same pressure gauge I have had for 25 years.

The El Camino has my home brew fuel injection system, adapted from a throttle body system on the 6 cylinder Elky and adapted to the 350. It has a CEL that works fine, but I keep it working in perfect condition and no CEL light for my car.

So no, no CEL for me on either car. And the Macan is way too new to have any issues.

My new Taco has so many buzzers and bells I feel like Pavlovs pooch!

Mrs Beard's BMW has a bad temp sensor in one of the DEF tanks. If you fill the tank, it will go out.

The thing is, if I fix the electrical gizmo that is causing the engine light to be on in my Mercedes, I am filled with existential dread about when its going to come on next. Better just to live in a state of failure.

In its defense, P0171 and P0174's are not to be ignored.

You can even plot a chart of the trims on one of those nifty OBD devices.

in a reasonable modern subaru if the check engine light is on the cruise control is disabled. i like and use the cruise control daily.

so yes! i fix the darn thing. i got a "starter circuit" fault one day...the car was running at the time??

I put about 80K on my old Subaru with the CEL on. I'd pull codes occasionally and it would always come back with the same emissions codes. I tell my kids "Worry about engine temp and oil. If the CEL comes on it's mostly emissions related"

I loaned the Subie to a nephew once so he and his friends could go somewhere. He calls me and says "hey your check engine light is on" I tell him "Pull over and pop the hood". He pulls over, pops the hood and says "what now" I say "is the engine still there?" he says "you're an ass".