A few car questions: Need help?

Question

Hey guys, so basically I have a few questions.
1. My car's check engine light came on while driving and it was literally below 0. Could the cold have caused the check engine light to come on? My car has never had the check engine light come on before, it only has 135,000 miles on it.
2. When driving home as I was slowing down to almost a complete stop to turn, the engine just died and I couldn't start it back up, very light smoke was coming out of my car's vents when the Heat was set to not circulate (which the heat wasn't really working either). What could've been the cause here? Please help, this just happened and I barely made it home T_T
3. After #2 happened I was able to push it off to the side of the road because I don't have Triple A, and I can't get it towed at the moment and I was wondering if my car can still get towed if it's pushed far off enough to the side where it's not in the way. Can my car still get towed?

Shay · Answer

A check engine light is not always a sign of an immediate emergency.  The check engine light does indicate a problem that needs diagnoses ASAP.  A mechanic can plug in a computer that will instantly read what the check engine light is coming on for.  The cold shouldn't be the cause of the issue.  (by the way, 135,000 miles is high mileage and that is about the time most vehicle do need a major repair.)

However, since it sounds like your vehicle overheated and shut down on the road, it sounds like the check engine light may have been a warning of an immediate issue.  It sounds like a problem in your cooling system.  The fact that your heat was not working correctly is another sign that your problem is probably in the cooling system.  (radiator, water pump....etc)  Did you notice any other indicator lights or signals, such as the temperature at the time the vehicle died?

As for a vehicle sitting on the side of the road, if it is truly out of the way of traffic, a police office will come by and place a tag on the vehicle.  Once a vehicle is tagged, the vehicle owner has about 24 to 48 hours to get it moved before it will be towed.  (You would need to check your state laws for the time frame on that.  Call the police department for the city or county that your vehicle is sitting in to find out their policies for towing abandoned vehicles.  If you can't get it moved in the time they allow, it will be towed, so you need to arrange to have it moved ASAP.  If the vehicle overheated due to a cooling system issue, it might be possible to take some coolant (anti-freeze) and refill the radiator and get the vehicle to start again long enough to get it to a better location.

? · Answer

when the engine light comes on it means a code came up. will have to find out what that code is usually the cold weather has nothing to do with the light coming on. auto zone can scan the code for nothing and get back to us with that number for more help

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A few car questions: Need help?

2 Answers