I was driving home from Brooklyn on Sunday and the check engine light came on. When I reached back home I noticed that the airbox filter was extremely dirty, could this have caused it? Is there any way to reset the light without carring it to the dealer? I have a 98'GS 300 with no engine mods.

 

theres a reason why your airbox filter was unusually dirty. why? i dont know. bad maintenance to faulty something, maybe it is time to get it checked out somewhere, if you haven't taken the car in lately. or if you can remedy things yourself and are satisfied, thats also fine, it is your car. oh, check your air hose real quick, just in case.

 

My experience is that the check engine light is due to too lean or too rich of a fuel air mixture or an oxygen sensor failure. If your air filter was real dirty, it could possibly cause the problem. I suggest that you put in a new filter and at the same time disconnect the negative battery terminal for about 5 minutes. This should reset the check engine sensor.
Good luck!