Seeing your vehicle's check-engine light come on can throw a wrench in your travel plans. It can also feel a little scary: Does it mean your ride is headed for the scrapyard? Or is there a simple fix?

The world of car diagnostics has changed a lot over the last 50 years. Back in the '70s and earlier, a mechanic's most valuable diagnostic tools were usually their eyes and ears. You could figure out ...

You're driving down the road, everything seemingly normal. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you see a light come on: the dreaded check-engine light. A lot of people just ignore it; after all, it's ...

Learn what those pesky dashboard lights mean with this easy-to-use scanner, compatible with almost all vehicles made after 1996. Car issues can be incredibly expensive, and many of us feel like we're ...

In the past, automotive diagnostic scanners were rather expensive. But today you can get a wireless interface for $10 online and use a multitude of apps to read codes, log, and monitor data in a wide ...

“It’s a great way to find out what is wrong with the computer or vehicle.” The iKiKin OBD2 Scanner Code Reader is on sale (for a limited time only) for $18, which is $18 off the original $36 price tag ...

The second iteration of on-board diagnostics, OBD II, has been required tech on all new cars sold in the U.S. since 1996. That means that anyone who uses or works on cars less than three decades old ...

This article was updated in August 2025 with new products and information. That little yellow check-engine light is sneaky. Most of the time, you forget it could be there. But when it detects an issue ...

This article was updated in November 2025 with new information. You know you’ve earned your DIY stripes when you can stay calm the moment something goes wrong. And with cars, that moment usually ...