Does SES light hurt car performance?

[mvolps22]

My SES light came on and the code it threw is "clutch circuit switch malfunction" this means the car isn't sensing when I am pushing the clutch down, the voltage is supposed to change and apparently it isn't, or at least it isn't registering. Does the car go into some kind of "safe" mode when the SES light is on? and how do i fix a clutch circuit switch malfunction?

thanks,
Matt

[2001NBMZ28]

Probably not in this case, but some codes do. I'd visit gearchatter.com and look up the code for your year, that should tell you.