The check engine light, as it’s commonly known, is the bane of most drivers' existence. Known as a MIL or malfunction indicator lamp, by the powers who mandated that this small, glowing, nefarious amber light be installed in all cars during the 1990s as part of tightening emission standards.
Originally a component of the first OBD — On Board Diagnostics — system, the MIL has soldiered on, illuminating as often as a fault is detected in one of the many engine or drive line operating parameters so pervasive in the modern automobile.
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