Is it legal to drive a company car with the engine light on?

I know its an MOT failure but is it illegal ?

Engine light isn’t an MOT failure (it can mean pretty much anything), at least from my experience from passing them anyway

you might want to find out WHY the engine light is on Before i shits itself on the outside lane of the motorway in the middle of a snow storm.

mashr: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/104539/is-an-engine-management-light-an-automatic-mot-fail-now-

Engine light isn’t an MOT failure

It is now.

Its supposed to come on with ignition and go off, so removing the light should not allow a pass either.

Well that’s crap….(in hindsight it’s been a good few years….and i’m getting old too fast)

Its certainly not illegal to drive a car with the engine light on.

but you know also this:

you might want to find out WHY the engine light is on Before i shits itself on the outside lane of the motorway in the middle of a snow storm.

Well that’s crap….

not really …. its an indicator something is wrong with the car and needs fixing.

regardless of the issue is there any potential comeback if i was involved in an accident for example?

Yes turn yourself into the nearest police station we’ll see you in about 15 years.

is that how long it takes to find your nearest staffed one?

Is it legal to drive a company car with the engine light on?

It’s the same for all cars, not just company cars. If it were me, I would be speaking to the fleet manager and have them sort it out though.

is that how long it takes to find your nearest staffed one?

Nice come back. 😂

regardless of the issue is there any potential comeback if i was involved in an accident for example?

Only if it could be shown that the engine management issue had contributed to the accident, which seems pretty unlikely.

There could be any number of faults that could be causing an engine management light – a lot of them won’t have any effect on drivability – things like stuck swirl flaps, crank position sensors, lambda sensors etc. Other potential faults like a bad coil pack or faulty turbo you would definitely notice but they aren’t going to make you more likely to have an accident.

Unless you drive around staring at the engine management light instead of the road!

ok car is not worth repairing and the fault doesn’t impact driving (apparently) however as above is there any issue with knowingly driving a car with a fault light on?

Technically

A person using (or causing or permitting to be used) a vehicle on the public road, which does not comply with the emissions standards it was designed to meet, is committing an offence.

However the amount of people with modified cars (legally insured) which are not road legal due to emissions exceeding type approval limits…..

yup that aside. is there any (however remote) chance there could be comeback for the driver?

ok car is not worth repairing and the fault doesn’t impact driving

So are the company refusing to repair the vehicle and insist that you drive it?

This is also a HSE question. I’d refer back to your companies policy on reporting faults and repair. It doesn’t sound like the vehicle is unsafe, but it should at least be appraised by someone qualified to make that assessment.

re: light – probably not illegal per se but if the ‘it’ll be fine mate’ engine light turns out to be ‘it’ll spit oil/diesel all over the road on a roundabout and a motorcyclist will die’ how will you feel about it?

So are the company refusing to repair the vehicle and insist that you drive it?

This is also a HSE question. I’d refer back to your companies policy on reporting faults and repair. It doesn’t sound like the vehicle is unsafe, but it should at least be appraised by someone qualified to make that assessment.

This – I cannot comprehend how a fleet manager could possibly ignore something like this.

i dont want to drive it. I am being asked to do so. Journey is approx 500 miles. DPF is the issue apparently.

i dont want any comeback is my main concern.

is there any (however remote) chance there could be comeback for the driver?

Its always the driver’s responsibility.

I’d contact the lease company and see what they thought about it. You’ll probably have a loaner within the hour.

500 miles with the engine warning light on is about 495 miles further than I’d want to drive. Plus, y’know, I don’t know if you’ve seen any weather reports lately…

had similar many years ago and car had a previous history of just cutting out…the lease co’ said not a problem…company fleet manager had been demoted from company paper shredder and ran with it… I insisted that I should have a rental car unless could find a spare car somewhere (large company)…spare OK car appeared…not saying will work but some times have to give the solution(s)

Andy,

*rep hat on*
You say its a company car? so provided by the company to do your job?

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regs…..

Engine light=problem=not fit for purpose
*rep hat off*

I’d also be concerned about it breaking down!

Does the company actually have a managed ‘fleet’ or is it a small business with cars they actually own and provide to staff?

Knackered dpf = it’ll go into limp mode at some point no one can predict.

I am being asked to do so.

500 miles! Jeez, I would be having a word with someone higher up the chain if the fleet manager is saying you must drive it.

Ultimately its your ass in the seat.

i dont want any comeback is my main concern.

While I sympathise with your predicament and it’s a valid concern, if it was me I’d be more focussed on not having an accident than fixating on blame should there be one.

This quote, and the way you’ve framed a few of your other posts, suggests you’d be quite happy running over baby robins or whatever, just so long as you’d be able to swerve any legal culpability afterwards. You seem perplexingly unconcerned about whether the light indicates something that might cause an accident.

wwaswas

Subscriber

Knackered dpf = it’ll go into limp mode at some point no one can predict.

Having just had this exact issue, would not be doing a 500 mile journey

Yup id be happy to plough baby Robbins etc into the tarmac as long as i wasnt held responsible

(thats a joke btw)

you might want to find out WHY the engine light is on Before i shits itself on the outside lane of the motorway in the middle of a snow storm.

Drain the oil, run the engine until you hear the pistons bouncing off the cylinder head. Replace the oil. Ask for a new car.

If it’s a company car then you ought really to get a loaner. Having said that, if it is the DPF, then it might be OK. If this is the first time it has come on, then going on a long run might allow the DPF to regenerate itself, and the light will go out. You could also try some dpf cleaner to help it along at the same time. Again though, this is the sort of thing you really shouldn’t be worrying about with a company car. If the light has been on for a long time, then there is a decent chance that it might go into limp home mode, and I wouldn’t want to risk it on a 500 mile journey in that case.