My Toyota Corolla’s check engine light comes on from time to time. It happens sometimes when I drive a long distance or up in the mountains–anything out of the ordinary. When it was time to get new license plates, I had to get an emissions test. The car won’t pass if the check engine light is on, and yep, the check engine light was on. What to do?
Often the check engine light goes off by itself. I just drive it as I regularly do and after several days or a week or so, it goes off. I’ve been told on my model car it can be caused by a loose gas cap or any number of other minor things. I usually ignore it because the car runs fine and I’ve had it checked out. I thought maybe it was something as simple as the sensor or light bulb or whatever that causes that dashboard light to come on.
I moved to a new state and put off getting new license plates for months, ignoring the “register your vehicle within 30 days rule” but when the old plates were about to expire, I knew it was time to bite the bullet. I went to the DMV and got a new drivers license and applied for new license plates (tags as they’re called in these parts). Since it was the first time registering my car in the new state, I had to get a vehicle emissions test. So, off I drove to the emissions testing facility down the road. The check engine light had been off but when I turned the key and started the engine, the light came on. As I was driving to get it tested. Good grief!
So, I drove into the lane and the tester hooked the monster hoses to my car, fiddled with the controls, and unhooked it. He approached me with the paperwork in hand. As I suspected, my car had failed the emissions test because the check engine light was on. I had a certain amount of time to return (a week or 10 days or something).
I had the money to take the car to a repair shop but decided I wanted to see what I could do. I drove to an auto parts store and told the clerk that my check engine light was on, I needed it off to pass emissions. This woman was amazing. She brought a little tool out to my car, I opened the hood, and she hooked this gadget up. It gave several options of things that might be causing it. She recommended starting with the cheapest and easiest option, which was replacing the air filter.
We went back inside the auto parts store, and I bought a new air filter, installed it, and presto chango, the check engine light went off! I drove to the testing facility the next day and the car passed.