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I rented a 2007 Chevy Impala last month, drove it for a week while on a trip in the southeast. Nice car, fully loaded with gauges, and after a day or so I took notice of the dash mounted on board car computer. While there is a low tire pressure "idiot light" aka warning light on the dash, the computer also had a tire pressure detail display to read the tire pressure in each of the tires. It also had a remaining oil life display, MPG actual and MPG average displays, compass zone adjustments, several trip odometers, etc. Pretty good stuff.
My mom's check engine light came on because she didnt have the gas cap fully secured but she could have saved paying a mechanic to fix that if she knew what was wrong.
What you have to understand is that a vehicles computer doesn't necessarilly know what's wrong either, it detects a problem and throws a code and lights the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp). Your moms car's computer did not know the gas cap was loose, it detected a problem (likely an evaporative system leak, fuel systems are presurized, the loose cap caused a loss of pressure in the fuel system) and lit the light. When a mechanic reads the code, he follows the trouble shooting procedure in the service manual to trace the problem and fix it.
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