A yellow warning light on the instrument cluster comes on. Don’t panic just yet.

This light is known in the industry as the MIL, which stands for Malfunction Indicator Lamp. This light could look like the profile of an engine, it could say "check engine," it could say "service engine soon," depending on the manufacturer of the vehicle. It may come on and stay on or it may come on and go out later.

When the MIL comes on it is to alert you that something about the engine or one or more of its related components or systems are not functioning the way that it should. First consider whether the vehicle you are driving is acting any differently than it was before the light came on. If there is no difference in the running condition then there is probably no cause for alarm. Get off of the road at your earliest convenience and listen to the way your engine is running. Do you hear anything unusual? If you do turn off the engine and open the hood for investigation or call someone to help you. If you do not hear, smell, or see anything unusual with your vehicle you should be able to continue driving as before. Make an appointment at Superior Auto Service to get your vehicle diagnosed properly.

Your technician will access the computer memory for trouble codes. This will point the tech in the direction of finding what caused the code to turn on the MIL.

Something as simple as a loose gas cap can cause the MIL to come on and stay on. Always check the gas cap first. If something more serious is causing the MIL to come on, you can count on the technicians at Superior Auto Service to repair the problem.