Here’s Why Ohio Drivers’ Check Engine Light Came On When You Started Your Car

Over the past week, the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio all got a nice little wake-up call from winter as a storm front continues to put snow on the ground. Those who hunkered down through the winter weather and took a few days to go outside to go anywhere most likely found a little surprise, waiting for them when they turned the ignition on to their car.

Most likely if you waited a few days before turning your car on during the winter storm, you saw that your check engine light came on and most likely the tire pressure monitoring system light. Luckily, this isn’t anything major to be concerned about. As Belle Tire points out, it’s very common for your tire pressure monitoring system to act up after a cold winter storm:

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Why Did My Tire Pressure Light Come On In Winter?

Tire pressures are by no means constant. They can be affected by nothing more than a change in outdoor temperatures. Pressures can fluctuate 1 psi (pounds per square inch) for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit. A temperature increase drives a psi increase and a decrease in temperature results in a decrease in psi.

Why Did My Check Engine Light Come On In Winter?

There’s also a connection between the check, engine, light, and extreme temperatures that we recently had getting down to below zero. When you have freezing temperatures and ice formation on your car that can affect the sensitive electronic circuits in your vehicle and they can receive false voltage ratings which will cause your check engine light to come on.

Luckily after running it for a few minutes and then shutting the vehicle down and restarting it. You will see that the check engine light no longer comes on, and unless something out of the ordinary happens, you can give it a quick check to confirm there’s nothing seriously wrong.