Driving with a flashing Check Engine light should be an immediate cause for concern, so it’s important to stop and consider your options for repairs.
You’re driving along in peace when suddenly the dashboard lights up with a flashing Check Engine light. Can you ignore it and drive as usual until the next oil change? No — a flashing light indicates greater urgency than a steady light. A steady (or amber or yellow-colored, if your indicator uses more than one color) Check Engine light typically warns of a lesser evil, such as a gas cap that wasn’t screwed on tightly, or a faulty sensor.
A blinking engine light (or one that is orange or red) indicates bigger, more catastrophic problems can — or are about to — happen to your car’s vital organs: the fuel system, engine internals, catalytic converter, or others. Especially if the vehicle is running differently, or making new sounds or smells (or visuals, like smoke or steam), it’s best to pull out of traffic to a safe place and turn off the vehicle. Driving further without knowing why the Check Engine light is blinking could cause some really expensive damage. From there, you have a few options for what to do next.What is a flashing Check Engine light trying to tell you?
Like a Ouija board, a Check Engine light is annoyingly vague at the outset.
