I need some advice. I drove my Jag 4 hours away to see my parents last night. After driving around the car today I noticed the check engine light came on..?? It starts fine, runs fine and doesn't smell like anything is on fire. However, I'm driving back home tomorrow morning and after reading the handbook it says that it may drive in "limp mode"..?? What is this? Does this mean I may be driving half the speed home tomorrow? Should I be concerned about this check engine light? I've had cars in the past that these lights came on and then turned off after a couple days..... And yes I did turn off the car and let it sit for a couple hrs but the light is still on..

Any ideas? Could tomorrow be a long drive home for me?

 

Get the codes read and post them up. Also please fill out your profile so everyone knows the model and engine of your car.

 

Yeah, I agree with QuartzSTypeR. It will be best if you go to a local auto parts store (Advance Auto Parts, Autozone, etc.) and get the codes read. Many of them will do it free of charge for you.

Also list details on your car. Year, Engine Size, Mileage.

The people on this site are very knowledgeable and very helpful so I am sure they will help you out with whatever problem you have.

 

After you retrieve the codes you may likely recieve lean bank codes, possibly indicating a vaccume leak. Till then, check the airbox for a tight seal and connection to hose leading to cam cover. Snoop around.

 

You may also want to re-tighten your gas cap. Loose gas caps can trigger a CEL.

 

Ditto.

 

Yes to everything the others have said... Listen to them all..

Also, don't get too worked up yet. Just check out what the codes are first.

My guess is you have an "amber" CEL. That needs attention but is not the same as a "red" CEL. See these cars are actually pretty smart. The amber light is triggered for things like miss-fires and vacuum leaks. The "red" is triggered during critical faults, like the throttle or such. Also, amber may be accompanied by "restricted performance", this just turns things back so you don't do too much damage driving the car. It normally intervenes during hard acceleration. Now, you can trigger "limp mode" with a red CEL. This basically puts the engine in a idle state. Enough to get it off the road while still having steering and brakes.

From what I've read, you need to find out the issue ASAP but I don't think you are in danger yet of triggering limp mode.