Best Cars to Insure

is it safe to drive a car with the check engine light on?

my car is a 1997 chevy malibu and the check engine light just came on. i checked the oils and water and they r fine.what could b wrong?

Public Comments

1. You need to take it in and have it checked. Could be something wrong with the engine ......
2. Be extremely cautious! Something has obviously tripped that light for a reason! If you can't find the problem, I recommend you take it to a mechanic!
3. I don't know what could be wrong, but I've done it before
4. I'd take it in. If it were oil you would have gotten a light that said something about oil (oil pressure low, change oil, etc). It could be something unimportant triggering the light, but it could also be something important, so get it checked.
5. The oil is not going to the engin,so cheque for bust tubes.
6. Places like Advance Auto parts will hook it up to their computer & run a diagnostic to give you an idea of what's going on with your car. You should at least do that much - then you can take it to your mechanic & say the computer said code # whatever is showing on the diagnostic. I drove mine with the check engine light for a long time - I had some problems with sludge in the engine - after my mechanic put some kind of cleaner in the system it was fine. Good luck!!!
7. Yes, usually - what it most likely means is that something like you O2 sensor is messed up. I would take it to your local Chevy dealer and have them run it through their diagnostic. If you tell me your town (via email) chances are I can send you to a good dealer. I am in the business and have friends or clients across the country.
8. I was told that the lights that go off in a car are more or less "dummy lights". If you checked all the fluids and your car seems to be running fine than I would think your okay. My sister drove around her Saturn with the check engine light on for years. Never had a problem....it just turned off one day.
9. better take it to a repair shop and have it inspected. anything that can put you in a sorry state could be wrong in your car.
10. Dealers and shops will charge you money to tell you what the problem while Autozone does it for free. It could be as a simple as just not screwing on your gas cap securely (Air Leak on their computer)