Rep Power: 0

Hi. I'm new to this site. But anyway, this morning I filled up my car about half tank, and everything was fine. I drove to work (about 30 miles) and no lights came on. I also drove about 10 miles during the lunch hour too. I then came out to my car after work...turned it on, and my check engine light was on for the whole ride home.

I checked the gas tank cap once I got home and I thought it was loose. I know it will take a few days for the light to come off on it's own. I called my mechanic, and I told him the story. He said to come by Saturday (it is currently Wednesday evening) to have it checked out (he doesn't charge much for repairs too). So I'm guessing it's okay to drive with it on since he didn't make a big deal about it??

HELP PLEASE!! Thanks.

 
Rep Power: 511

Go to an autozone or something and get the code read for free. Without that, we can't really provide any insight. A check engine light can be almost anything really.

 
Rep Power: 0

So do you think since my mechanic said it is ok to drive...my car will be ok until Saturday Morning?

 
Rep Power: 511

It all depends on what illuminated the check engine light. Something like an ELD fault, loose gas cap, or something minute like that, you'll be fine.

If it's something like a spurious misfire, I'd still drive it, but I'd also wanna start looking into what may have caused it.

However, as long as your car isn't running in limp mode (won't rev past 4000 RPMs), you should be fine. Even if it was in limp mode, I'd get the code read and find out what the code means, just so I know what's at risk.

Really, I guess what I'm saying is, it should be pretty easy to figure out if you shouldn't be driving your car much. Something would feel off, be it a shudder, noticeable lack in performance, etc. Again, I'd still wanna get the code read. It's free to find out what the code is, so why not?