Oh No! Not the Dreaded Check Engine Light!

September 1, 2020

Imagine this scenario…

You’re driving in your car and the Check Engine Light comes on. What do you do?

Panic? No…

Pull over? Not unless you hear some odd noise or your car starts losing power.

Blow it off? Well, as tempting as it is...no, you shouldn’t blow it off either.

When many drivers see the Check Engine Light, they will often consider the options listed above. We understand, you’re living a busy life and you don’t have time to deal with the dreaded Check Engine light.

But, here’s what you should do. Contact your favorite auto mechanic, or the Avid Autowerx team, and set an appointment for an inspection.

It’s kind of like scheduling an appointment with your doctor when you have a fever. Something in your body doesn’t feel right. You might put off calling the doctor’s office for a while. But over time, the fever doesn’t go away and you start to show other symptoms. If you keep blowing it off, what could have been healed in a short period of time becomes a bigger illness than you bargained for. The doctor brings you in for a medical examination and you get thorough testing. Then, you get the results that tell you what’s wrong and how to treat it. Hopefully, you reacted in time and you can catch the illness early enough, right?

Well, the Check Engine light is your car trying to tell you something’s wrong. But, the Check Engine light is just one little indicator. The reason you take your vehicle to an auto repair shop when the Check Engine light turns on is because the mechanics will perform a series of tests to diagnose the issue and recommend how to repair it.

Here are some of the various things that trigger the illumination of the Check Engine light:

Loose gas cap -- which is the first thing you should examine when you see the Check Engine light.
Oxygen sensor malfunction.
Catalytic converter malfunction.
Ignition coil malfunction.
Faulty spark plug.
Faulty mass air flow sensor.
Incompatible alarm system.
Leaky hoses and valves.
Bad battery.
Faulty computer modules.

These ten items may seem inconsequential to you at first, but we encourage you to bring your vehicle in for a safety inspection. The truth is this: there could be more reasons the Check Engine light is on, besides these. But, it takes a knowledgeable team of automotive technicians to pinpoint the problem.

Could you, or should you, run to your local auto parts store and have them diagnose the Check Engine light for you? Well, it all depends on your end goal. If you plan to do the work yourself and you have the patience to dive into a multi-faceted diagnostic issue, go for it. If you love to problem-solve, like working with your hands, and don’t mind investing in the equipment to work on your own vehicle, you might enjoy doing the detective work yourself.

However, if you don’t have time or desire to figure out the problem yourself, give it to the experts who are equipped to diagnose the issue efficiently and effectively. Some of our diagnostics tool costs run in the five- and six-figures. Some of the testing results we perform here at Avid Autowerx are a result of our long history of mechanical repair, lessons we’ve learned in technical classes, and tapping into our professional network of problem-solving gurus. After all, if a diagnostic issue is difficult for our professionals to resolve, how are you going to address it without the tools, equipment, and know-how? It may take you much longer than you thought.

In summary, you should bring your vehicle into Avid Autowerx in Cincinnati as soon as possible when your Check Engine light comes on. The chances of it being resolved in short order are high the sooner you bring it in. If we find that the problem behind your Check Engine light is a bigger issue, we will inform you so you can make your car safer, make intelligent decisions, and help your car last longer. The last thing we ever want is for our customers to be broken down on the side of the road, or on a tow truck.

When your vehicle requires maintenance service, the Avid Autowerx team can help. We specialize in high-quality auto repair and will guide you towards options that will help protect your investment. Clients choose us over other shops because of our dedication to always operating with the utmost integrity. When your Check Engine light illuminates your dashboard, contact Avid Autowerx and schedule your appointment today!

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