Am I worrying too much or is my dad just ignorant?

My check engine light it flashing. Its not just a solid yellow light

Looks like you had a month to take it to a mechanic but so far are opting not to. Your car, you’re responsible for maintenance. If it bothers you so much take it to a mechanic and quit bugging your dad over it.

I’m not bugging my dad about it. He constantly calls me to see if I’m driving it and then he gives me a lecture when I say I’m not.

Is the issue that you don’t have the money to have the car repaired? If so, have SOMEBODY you trust at least look it over. STOP. driving it. The only guarantee if you continue is that if you do not stop, it will surely cost you more.

Get it fixed !

Blown engines are not cheap to replace.

Go to a local auto parts store & ask them to check it for you. They should be able to retrieve a code that can give you an idea of what is going bad. They will usually check it for free but they won’t do any repair work for you. My check engine light doesn’t flash. It stays solid until the problem is fixed.

You may have a real problem, but you might also have a manufacturer scam happening. I drove a car for 10 years with the check engine light on because my mechanic recommended not trying to fix the problem at least until it actually broke!!!

Going out on a limb here…your dad understands cars better than you do. He bought you the car & gave it to you & you’re still expecting him to pay for any pending repairs. He knows that you don’t have a serious problem & sees NO reason to pay to get ripped off by the dealer/mechanic. Date a boy your age & con him into doing any repair work for you. Or take it to a real mechanic & pay for the repairs yourself!!!

Part of growing up is taking responsibility for yourself!!!

“When the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp, or Check Engine lamp) blinks instead of glows, this tells you the emissions problem is more serious. Again, this doesn’t mean you have to make a panic stop, but you should get off the highway if you can and travel at lower speeds until you can get to the nearest repair facility.” – from Haynes TECHBOOK OBD-II & Electronic Engine Management Systems #10206, page 1–2 to 1–3.

When you have to get a vehicle emissions test, your car will fail and WILL have to be repaired. Your Dad is somewhat ignorant but he will learn from his mistake when he has to pay for the repair. And it could be very expensive! (When I had to get a repair on my truck, the repair was $1300. A friend of mine has a Subaru that needs a catalytic converter that costs $2000.) So go ahead and DRIVE THAT CAR!!!

And, FYI, if you lost your gas cap, get it replaced as that will make the “Check Engine” light come on. Also, DO NOT overfill your gas tank!!! When the gas nozzle clicks off, leave it there!

Keep in mind that the “Check Engine” light is about EMISSIONS and not mechanical/safety related issues.

Have you filled the gas tank while the engine was running ?

That will trigger a ‘light on” and must be taken to a dealer / shop to reset the computer for the light.

Back in the day, a check engine light was what my father referred to as “chuck engine”.
Cars manufactured in the last 20 years have every little thing reporting to the check engine light. It could be an alert that your CO2 sensor has failed, which will minorly effect your gas mileage. It could also be something really bad.
Take the car to a Kragen, or any full service gas station, and have them read the computer on it. A lot of places do that for free.
And then you can tell your ad exactly what the issue is.

A check engine light by itself isn’t necessarily anything to worry about. Your dad is correct about that. It might be a bad O2 sensor which is part of the emissions controls, or it might be the gas cap wasn’t tightened correctly the last time the tank was filled, or it might indicate something worse. A flashing check engine light is usually something is going to break right away and the car should not be driven.

Take the car to an auto parts store. Most of them have a monitor they can plug into your car to see what the light is telling you…what the problem is. Maybe call first to see if they have that service. If it is something completely simple, many of them can and will repair it for you on the spot…no charge other than parts (something like a dying battery for example). That removes the question of what is wrong and if it is safe to drive. It also gives you ammunition for when your dad calls to harass you. And that is what it sounds like he is doing. So when he calls, you don’t have to give him just the generic “I have a light on!” statement. You can tell him “I had that check engine light checked and it is this.”

I thank you should get it checked for any problems. A engine that has a problem can lead to serious injury or worse, death. I say get it in the shop.

Could be something, could be nothing. Easy enough to get it checked somewhere that doesn’t fix cars so won’t lie. I’ve had check engine lights on half the time I’ve ever driven.

I had one Ford that the gas cap triggered the Check Engine light repeatedly. There was NO way to put the cap on that didn’t trigger the CEL…NOT even a new cap!!!

Sometimes a check engine light will go on if the gas cap is an after market part. In that case you have to purchase a new replacement gas cap from the dealer.

That happened to me.