[Rca2000]

A "Check engine" light that comes on once on a while, on a normally running car is not always a big deal. If you can get the codes, you can figure out what it means--usually, it is a sensor(Oxygen, IAC, TPS, MAP, MAT, coolant temp, speed sensor, or such), and something like that that is NOT something that can hurt the engine. But one needs to know what the codes mean.

[Maximus_Ridiculousness]

Yah. It didn't matter thought because there was no code. It was faulty from the start. It wasn't until VW tested enough cars (and couldn't get accurate codes) that they decided this was a major problem. 80% of the cars that were brought in were found to have nothing wrong with them. The dealership mechanics would reset the check engine light, and it'd go off again a few weeks later. It was a real problem for new beetle owners with the 2000-2002 models.