2014 Chevrolet Malibu - What to do when I see the CEL?

car engine light comes on

OK, so what are the codes??

Are there any symptoms other than the dashboard light? DMP’s suggestion to post the diagnostic codes here is where to start. Whenever the CEL turns on there is almost always at least one diagnostic code stored in the ECM memory. Either ask your shop, or Google might show you some other ways to obtain the codes.

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Most any auto parts store can pull the codes for you…

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Don’t bother getting the codes read. You won’t know what to do with that information.

Take it to your mechanic for diagnosis.

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See. Going back to an old comment of mine, I want a laughing amogi along with the plain old “thumbs up” so I can choose for myself.

In short. :+1: :rofl:

What you do is get the code(s) read, then decide if it is necessary to do anything about it/them, or if it’s better to just ignore the light and drive on. In a state with no emissions testing, certain trouble codes, such as evaporative emissions system leaks, catalyst efficiency codes, etc, are not worth worrying about, as long as the vehicle runs fine.

Unfortunately, on a 2014 model, if you live in a state with emissions testing, the old method of disconnecting the battery to clear codes no longer works. You would have to fix the problem, if possible, or sell the car to someone who lives in an area with no emissions testing.

Bad advice.

If the Check Engine light is always on because you decided not to fix the cause, then you’ll never know if another more serious problem arises that would have turned on the Check Engine light, and a major failure occurs.

Tester

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@cigroller just tap on the smiley face at the top of the reply box. All manners of emojis there.

I’m talking about not leaving a reply - just a reaction. This came up already in some other thread. It actually comes up for me all the time.