If the light was flashing when it came on, then it means your engine is misfiring.
A solid light can mean anything from a loose/faulty gas cap to a transmission issue.
This
light comes on when the computer detects a
fault of some sort in its diagnostic tests. If it keeps detecting this
issue, the light will remain on. If the light turns off, then it has
detected that the issue may no longer be present.
In
order to find out what the exact reason was for your light, You need to
have your car computer scanned to retrieve the code that
the computer would have stored when the light triggered. Most garages
will do this free of charge. The code will tell you what may have
caused the light to initially turn on.
You can try resetting it by disconnecting the battery for about 10 mins (make sure your radio doesn't lock out though as you'll need a code to use the radio again if it has a lock out feature). You can also have it reset by garages when you have it checked for the code (some garages charge to reset the code). The light will most likely come back though if it's been on for such a long time as it seems to be an ongoing issue
When the Check Engine light (or Service Engine Soon or small picture of an engine) is turned on, the systems computer control unit (called the PCM) has sensed a fault in the electronic controls of the engine and/or the emission system. When this happens you will seldom feel the car engine run any different. There are about 200 possible system faults (the gas cap is just one of them) that turn the Check Engine light on, to know what has developed a problem you must have the system tested, this is called an OBD2 fault code test, Kragen/Oriley and Autozone parts stores (USA only) do this testing for free.
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