How long before you actually “check engine”?

I found out the hard way years ago that letting a “check engine” light can be extremely costly.

The truck was running fine and I really couldn’t afford any repairs, so I just let it go for a few months. After saving a few bucks here & there, I finally brought my truck into the shop & found out that what had originally started out as a bad O2 sensor had now turned into a myriad of other issues that probably could have been avoided if I’d just brought it in when I first saw the warning light.

Dammit.

Nowadays, there’s about thirty or forty different lights and warning bells that go off randomly.

During the extreme cold the last few weeks, my “Tire pressure sensor” warning light was constantly on.

Of course, I stopped at KT and filled my tires up to the suggested PSI and that didn’t seem to fix it. And now that it’s warmed up, the “Tire pressure Sensor” warning light has magically turned itself off.

Yay me!

According to a new survey, people will drive around for an average of nine days with the “check engine” light on before they actually take it to the shop.

It’s no surprise we wait that long. According to more data from this survey, most of us drive 7,460 miles before changing our oil!

Dude…so bad for your vehicle.

And yet, four out of five people think they take good care of their vehicle.

I’m sure they assume that by keeping the interior clean, or running it through the car wash once a week/month, the car will magically run forever.

So, how long do you drive around with your “check engine” light on before getting your vehicle looked at?