Posted: 22 Nov 2025, 2:33 pm Topic Author

Driving to work this morning and the dreaded check engine light popped up. Car is running fine - no weird noises, no loss of power, no smoke. 2019 Mazda CX-5 with 88,000 km. Before I take it to a shop and potentially get charged a $150 diagnostic fee, what should I check myself? I know the obvious: gas cap tight? Any fluid leaks under the car? I don't have an OBD2 scanner but I'm thinking about buying one just to read the code. Any recommendations for a decent budget scanner?

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Buy a $20 Bluetooth OBD2 adapter and a diagnostic app on your phone. It'll pay for itself the first time you read a code and realize it's just a loose gas cap.

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Auto parts stores will read codes for free. But don't let them sell you parts based on just the code - get it properly diagnosed.

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