Onboard diagnostics (OBD) systems have been around since the 1980s and were developed to help limit harmful automotive exhaust emissions. Between 1988 and 1995, U.S.-built vehicles came with what's ...

While your car can’t talk, it communicates with you using chimes, icons, and messages. One icon that you should never ignore is the check engine light. It turns on when the car’s onboard computer ...

When the check engine light comes on in a vehicle, it’s indicating that there is some issue with the car that should be checked out. It could be something minor, such as the gas cap not being screwed ...

Although commonly referred to as the “check-engine light,” some cars may instead display the message “Service Engine Soon,” or show a yellow or orange outline of an engine, perhaps with the word ...

When the check-engine light snaps on, it is not a suggestion, it is your car’s way of saying something in the powertrain or emissions system needs attention. I see it as an early warning system that ...

It’s the moment every car owner dreads, especially those of us who own older, out-of-warranty cars: The check engine light pops on. Keep a vehicle long enough, and it’s bound to happen. It happened to ...

Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all, so let’s start by understand exactly what the check engine light is. In automotive terms it is known as MIL (Malfunction-Indicator-Lamp) and is an ...