My car's check engine light came on 3 days before a 400 mile drive and I fixed it for $11

Eric Wells · 2026-09-25T23:25:04.17648+00:00

So my check engine light popped on a Tuesday and I had a trip to my sister's place in Boise planned for that Friday, about 400 miles each way. I almost dropped $120 at the shop just to get the code read, but my neighbor let me borrow his scanner for free. Code came back for a loose gas cap, which sounds fake but apparently it's super common. I tightened the cap, drove around for a bit, and the light went off on its own. Here's the part I didn't know: you can rent a code scanner from most auto parts places for free, you just put down a deposit. I spent $11 on a new gas cap since mine was cracked and that was it. Saved myself the shop visit and the stress of driving with that light staring at me. Has anyone else gotten a scary code that turned out to be something dumb like that?

Vivisector

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My car's check engine light came on 3 days before a 400 mile drive and I fixed it for $11 | Budgeting Wins - Vivisector