Check Engine Light - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

My husband is out of town and doesn't have access to his computer. When he left his hotel this morning the check engine light came on and blinked 4 times and went off. He is 400 miles from home. The light is no longer on. Does he need to get this checked immediately or is this nothing? What should he do?

If he's truly concerned then he should take it to a local shop, have them hook it up to an OBDII code reader, (below headlight switch near the end of the dashboard) and have them read what the trouble is. IMO, if it has it's fluids full and otherwise runs perfectly I would drive it home, that's just me. If the light went out it could be something simple like an O2 sensor going bad, good luck. PS I've read that some auto zones will allow you to use said device free although I've never personally tested the legend.

It's hard to diagnose w/o any other details, particularly what codes where thrown, other symptoms, etc. To the folks more familiar with boxsters than I, does a flashing CEL typically mean a misfire like it does on some other cars? if so, and it's a misfire condition, I would avoid driving it. his best bet is probably to bring into an indy shop that's got the durametric equipment. btw, If the CEL light isn't illuminated, I doubt the actron scanner that the autozones typically use will pick up any codes since the CEL probably wasn't on long enough for any codes to be stored.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving my wife's Audi and the check engine light came on. I was on my way to Indiana and was concerned that maybe I should return home and take a different car. I stopped in at Murray's ( like Autozone ) and they told me they can't check the fault but they will give me the machine and I can do it myself. I read the code, wrote it down, and returned the code reader ( this was all for free ). I then called the Audi dealer and told them the code and asked if I should bring it in immediately or if it was ok to drive. He looked up the code ( it was emissions related - which is common ) and said that the car should be fine to drive, but to schedule an appointment to bring it in within the week. Drove to Indiana and back, brought the car in three days later ( it's a CPO ), they fixed the problem and I went on my merry way. So, my suggestion would be have him stop at a local auto parts store, read the code, call a nearby dealer, see what they say and go from there. Hope that helps.... Nick

That happen to me the other day when I fill up, it came on and went back off, took it in and no codes to be found, Still runs good and no light and yes it does work. Don't know what went wrong (not a problem yet, it has been a few days now).

If it's running ok and the light is now off, then he should be fine. This has happened to me on a few occasions and it turned out to be nothing. The CEL on these cars seem to be a little over eager to turn themselves on for no good reason.

Thanks, the light has gone off. We haven't had a code reader on it yet. When he gets back in town he will check for codes then.

If the engine light is BLINKING, this is a very bad sign. It is recommended to not drive it. But if however the light stays on when he starts the car and then a few miles in it turns off, then it is ok to drive (as long as it doesnt blink). I'm pretty sure it even states this in the manual.

Thanks for all of the responses. i just got in and all seems to be fine. The light came on during a short trip from the hotel to the meeting location (approx. 4 miles). When I left the meeting the light was gone and it no longer came up on the display. There were no other lights lit up either and I verified all fluids before proceeding. The car ran normal the entire way home and there were no other instances. Will the code be stored and readable? I thought that in order for the code to be readable it would still be referenced on the on board display? Thanks,

I asked that question when I had the same issue and got different answers. Some people said it's not stored and others said it is.

I am confident that the code is stored