Oh no, not again! You look down at your dashboard and see that annoying little glowing check engine light. But nothing seems wrong and you’ve got more important things to do, so what’s the harm in waiting? While not all maintenance alerts are dire, it is important to get them addressed as soon as possible. Why? Because it may be putting unnecessary stress on the rest of your car.
Your car is a system, and all parts of that system should be running properly for the long term health of the car. So even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal, taking your car in for maintenance when it alerts you can add several years to your car’s life span.
We all know how busy life can be, and there are so many more pressing things than a check engine light on a car that is running just fine. In order to make sure this issue doesn’t get put on the back burner; I like to use the one week rule: I make sure to bring my car in within one week of seeing my check engine light. While I may have many things going on, I know that I can find time within seven days to avoid bigger costs down the road.