Hey ladies.  My name is Beth, and I work for AAA.  I was just hired a few weeks ago as the “Promotions Coordinator” for AAA’s Car Care line.  While my credentials may have qualified me for the job, I was not prepared for the amount of knowledge I would need to know about cars.  I thought it would be in my best interest to find out more about car maintenance and repair so I would be able to do my job to my best ability.  And while I was thinking about that, I thought that I should not be the only one to benefit from my newfound knowledge.  Many of AAA’s members are women, and as a woman, I understand how frustrating it can be to be in an auto shop and not really understand what you are being told is wrong with your car.  We may nod and smile politely, all the while taking mental notes of words and phrases to Google later.  So, in an effort to advance my career, and educate other women, I decided to write articles for women by a woman about car care.

Today I would like to talk to you about that dreaded check engine light.  Unfortunately I have had personal experience with this little bugger.  It was a few months ago while I was driving home from my alma matter.  We had just suffered a particularly painful defeat to Auburn, (grrrrr), and I was in a hurry to get back home and send some angry emails to some of my fellow alumni about the poor performance, when all of a sudden that little light started blinking.  “Check Engine”.  Maybe it was my mood, or maybe it was my intent to get home, but my car was running fine, the light had been on for a few weeks without incident, nothing seemed to be out of whack right then, so I decided to just continue to drive and told myself I would get it checked later.  Big mistake.  Not long after the light started blinking, my car started acting funny, it wasn’t accelerating like it should, and the whole car starting shaking.  I quickly pulled over, cursing the car, the highway, the stupid Auburn Tigers, anything and everything.  I was not happy.  Luckily though, I had AAA, and called them to tow my car, my “mobile palace” to the closest Car Care Center.

When I got to the Car Care Center, I told the service writer what happened.  Well, I tried to tell him what had happened.  All I knew was that I was driving, my check engine light started blinking but nothing seemed wrong, and then my car stopped running like normal.  He asked about my last inspection, I didn’t know. He asked about a tune ups, I didn’t know. He asked how many miles I had on it, and I didn’t even know that! I could tell him the names of every single one of Brad and Angelina’s kids (and probably even where they were adopted from), but mileage…no clue.  I guess I should have been taking better care of my mobile palace.

I found out that when any light comes on in your car, it is crucial to get it checked out as soon as possible, even if it doesn’t seem like anything is wrong with the car. I found that the check engine light is designed to come on when there is something wrong with your emissions system.  Your emissions system is the method in which your car the monitors the amount of pollution your car releases.  But, and here is where that little light of doom gets tricky, just because the check engine light comes on, does not mean that the immediate problem is in your emissions system.  Say for example, the problem is in your engine, well, when your engine isn’t working right, it can cause your emissions system to not work correctly, which turns the check engine light on.  The problem can really be anything from something small like a sensor, to something much bigger, which is why it’s important to get it checked ASAP, so if it is small, it doesn’t turn into something bigger. (aka- more $$$ spent)

Seeing the Check Engine light doesn’t necessarily mean you have to swerve off the road immediately and freak out, but it does mean that you need to get your car checked out as soon as possible. The first thing you personally can check is the gas cap. If you just stopped to get gas, and didn’t tighten the cap enough, it may trigger the Check Engine light to come on.  And we all know it’s possible to do that, I know I can’t be the only one who has been driving down the road and seen that car with not only the gas door open, but the gas cap swinging all over the place, so check it first.   If this is the problem, the light should go off after a few short trips.

If the Check Engine light remains on steady or starts blinking, take your car into a AAA Car Care Center as soon as possible to prevent serious damage. If you do experience a flashing light, try to minimize driving at high speeds or under heavy loads.  And again, even if your light is blinking, don’t freak out!  Simply drive safely and directly to the nearest AAA Car Care Center.

The mechanics at AAA can pull your car into the shop and hook it up to a diagnostic computer that will read your car’s computer. When the computer is finished it will give the mechanic a diagnosis for why the check engine light turned on.  This diagnosis is not very specific, it won’t tell the mechanic “the problem is in the third cylinder of the engine near the top” but it will give a diagnostic code to point the mechanic in the right direction, and when he investigates the code he will be able to determine where the problem is. Once the problem is diagnosed and fixed, your car's computer makes sure everything is back to normal, and then it turns off the check engine light…
If only everything in life were that easy!

I know now what to do if that nasty little light ever comes on again, and hopefully now so do you.  I will continue to share with you my growing knowledge about car care as I learn it, because honestly, who better to explain to a woman, than another woman?