Nearly half of us are driving around with a warning light on the dashboard of our cars just blaring away, ignored. Twenty-two percent of us have a tire pressure warning light on at any given time, say researchers from CarMD. Another 20% ignore the check engine light.
CarMD surveyed 1,250 American drivers who own a car at least one year old. They found that “more drivers are ignoring dashboard warning lights” than last year.
We have our reasons. “The cost to repair check engine light-related issues is up across all regions of the U.S., largely due to an increase in parts costs,” CarMD notes. Increasing repair costs have also helped drive a dramatic spike in the price of car insurance.
CarMD has published the study annually since 2011. For the first time this year, “loose gas cap” fell off the list of the five most common reasons for a check engine light to come on.
The 10 Most Common Check-Engine-Light-Related Repairs
| Repair | Cost |
| Replace catalytic converter(s) | $1,304 |
| Replace oxygen sensor(s) | $253 |
| Replace ignition coil(s) and spark plug(s) | $398 |
| Replace mass air flow sensor | $311 |
| Replace ignition coil(s) | $212 |
| Replace EVAP canister purge control valve | $141 |
| Tighten or replace fuel cap | Free to tighten; $25 on average to replace |
| Replace ABS wheel speed sensor | $271 |
| Replace fuel injector | $446 |
| Reprogram powertrain control module | $109 |
