The check engine light will come on for a wide range of things. It means that the on board computer has detected a problem. May be as simple as a loose gas cap or something more serious. You should get hte code(s) retrieved as soon as possible as some problems if not fixed early will cause further damage to other components and could end up being ver expensive. Depending on where oy live some auto parts stores will read the codes for you. If you need help after getting the codes just come back and add a comment to this thread.