check engine light

[alyjean25]

Hi there...new to the site, but not new to the Beetle!
Inherited my Dad's '99 black hatchback in '04 and drove it until it was on it's last leg @ 250,000 miles! I was devastated to get rid of it, but i just picked up a 2005 black convertible w/ 28K and couldn't be happier! One note...check engine light just came on. On my '99, the CEL came on and never went off, so I'm used to it being touchy. But being that this is the first car I've purchased on my own, I'm more concerned this time around! It came on as I was merging onto the highway when I kinda jammed it into 5th gear...any ideas on what it could be? It only has 28,000 miles on it!
I made an appt. to check it out but it's not til Monday. I'm afraid to keep driving and ruin my 'new' car!! Help!

[gforce1108]

could be almost anything. if you have an autozone near you, they will read the code for free. if you tell us what the code says (actual code, not their interpretation of it), we might be able to help.