check engine light turned on, no oil light but oil is low and dirty

Hello,

Today, I was driving on a highway and suddenly check engine light came on (solid) and cruise control light was flashing. Not worried about cruise control light because I know that automatically comes on with check engine light. When I got home, I checked the oil and it was low and dirty. Not nonexistent, but low for sure. There were no oil lights that lit up on the dashboard though.

I don’t know anything about cars so I apologize in advance. I did a lot of Googling asking if low oil level and dirty oil could cause the check engine light to come on, and half the websites said yes, Subaru -specific websites mostly said yes, but a lot of other sites basically said “No, absolutely not.” or “rarely”. I’m getting an oil change tomorrow first thing in the morning regardless if the oil is the cause or not and the mechanic place is 7 miles away.

So first, I’m wondering if it’s safe to drive 7 miles to the mechanic with low and dirty oil and a check engine light light on.

Second, I’m wondering if the check engine light light ever comes on simply because of the oil needing to be changed, given the oil light didn’t come on, and that this is a Subaru.

I know that with a check engine light light on you need the diagnostic code reader thing to be able to tell what’s wrong exactly, but what I’m asking is would it be possible that the oil is the issue.

thanks to anyone who replies/reads, I appreciate it.