What To Do When The Check Engine Light Comes On...

  
 

You're riding on Interstate 495 near Fairfax, VA in your Subaru Forester and suddenly a light illuminates on your dashboard telling you to Check Your Engine. If you're like most car owners, you have little idea about what this indicator light is telling you or exactly what you should do next. In most cases, this does not mean you immediately drive over to the side of the road or have your vehicle towed. It however does mean, you should have your vehicle checked as soon as possible.

The Check Engine Light on your vehicle can mean everything from a loose gas cap and poor emission standards to a failing engine. Immediately ignoring the warning indicator could result in more serious and costly issues down the road, especially in relation to poor fuel economy and the emission of higher levels of pollutants in the air. 

 

 The Check Engine indicator light is part of your car's onboard diagnostic system or OBD. The OBD is a computerized system that works on monitoring and controlling your vehicle's performance and regulating everything from the engine speed and fuel mixture to the ignition timing. In some vehicles, the OBD even tells the automatic transmission when to shift gears.  When the computer finds an issue in the electronic control system it cannot self-correct, it will activate a Check Engine warning indicator light on your dashboard. The computer will also store a trouble code in the system memory, identifying the source of the problem. The code can be immediately read with and diagnosed at the Farrish Subaru Service Center in Fairfax, VA.