Check engine light

Hold on! A flashing Check Engine light indicates the most serious of conditions and you are supposed to stop the engine as quickly as is safely possible. The last thing you want to do is keep driving.

The flashing light means too much unburned fuel is going into the exhaust system where it will burn in the catalytic converter and overheat it. That damage can turn a minor problem into a very expensive one very quickly. The first thing to do is have the diagnostic fault codes read and recorded. The people at many auto parts stores will do that for you for free. The codes will indicate the circuit or system that needs further diagnosis, or the unacceptable operating condition.