They're called IDIOT LIGHTS for a good reason!

[Chromatix]

The "turbo dustbin" is actually supposed to be the radiator, with the cooling fan in front of it. Just about the only things that can go wrong with a radiator are:

- Low coolant. Either the radiator, the hoses to it, or some other part of the coolant circuit can break and let it out. This is normally what that particular light detects.

- Clogged channels. This reduces the useful area of the radiator, because coolant is only flowing through the unclogged part. This is detected as high coolant temperature.

- Cooling fan jammed or disconnected. This usually isn't a problem at highway speeds, but is in stop-start traffic and at low speeds. The fan is needed when there isn't enough natural airflow to remove enough heat. Again, this is normally detected as high coolant temperature.

[Primer]

Just as an aside--a lot of parts stores will read and reset a code (idiot light) for free. Just ask nicely, and not during a rush.

[Bosch]

Also, imagine the SCs you'd get when the repair is over that amount. I can hear it now: "But the Caaar said it would only cost $xx!!"

Exactly!

I could see that happening when I wrecked my PT back in early 2001 and the PT had only been out on the street a few months at that time. Nobody had the specs to repair it yet, the frame guy had to wait a week for them so I paid storage for that week then another two weeks just for parts to arrive since there was NO aftermarket for that car at the time so all the parts were dealer only items. And all production was being sent to Mexico to build the PT Cruiser(which I knew since I waited 9 months for mine to arrive) since the demand for the PT was huge at the time. So the bill was huge but most of that was in storage fees just sitting and waiting for parts.

The car can't adjust for pricing being different or that part being a "dealer only by order only" part, or the car needing to go down the street to another shop cause he doesn't have the tool your car needs to fix what's wrong. Or finding that the cause wasn't part A but part B exploding thus damaging part A..

[joe hx]

In ... 1978? The Honda Accord had 3 little indicators on the dashboard to keep track of scheduled maintenance. I know one was oil change, I don't recall what the other two were. As the miles went by, they'd turn from green to yellow, and eventually red.

i had one in my 96 accord. i think 97 or 98 was the last year to use that. after that in hondas and toyotas you hold down the odo reset button for ten seconds when you switch the key from off to run. the stupid change oil lights can be a pain to reset sometimes

[Ironclad Alibi]

Or, you can point at a Pinto riding on Firestone 550 Bias-Ply tires. (Aptly called Ford's attempt to clear out the Gene Pool; that thing was unsafe at any speed).

You have a small typo there. They were Firestone 500 steel belted radial tires. I worked on the recall back in 1978.

[Salted Grump]

Either way, the Pinto was commonly considered a coffin on wheels, but thanks for pointing out my error. Wouldn't want someone to get the right ideas about me. :P

[Ironclad Alibi]

Either way, the Pinto was commonly considered a coffin on wheels, but thanks for pointing out my error. Wouldn't want someone to get the right ideas about me. :P

Indeed it was. My wife saw one on the road, couldn't remember the name and called it a "Ford Fireball."

[protege]

Ah, the Pinto. From what I understand, it would have only cost Ford about $1 or so to modify the cars. Goes to show how much corporate America really cares

Speaking of idiot lights, my Corolla does allow you to reset the Check Engine light after an oil change. Usually, the shop does it, but occasionally, it doesn't reset itself. There's nothing hard about it--hold in the odometer button a few seconds, and crank the key. Light goes out

My other car...doesn't have any idiot lights. Other than a brake warning light, the MG's dashboard is pretty plain--fuel gauge, tachometer, oil pressure gauge, speedometer, temperature gauge...plus the high-beam indicator, and the RPM warning light.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Ah, the Pinto. From what I understand, it would have only cost Ford about $1 or so to modify the cars. Goes to show how much corporate America really cares

I recall the fix being referred to as a $5.00 part. Wikipedia's article on the Ford Pinto says the fix would have cost $11.00 ($57.00 today adjusting for inflation). The real scandal was Ford's internal memo saying paying off a few lawsuits would be cheaper than fixing the problem with the Pinto.

(I was a safety defects engineer in the Office of Defects Investigation at NHTSA from 1977-1982. This is the office that gets the auto industry to do car recalls.)

[monolayth]

Sometime this past month, i dont remember the day, I got a call in.

Seems these women were driving their jeep. warning lights came on.

they still drove.

car started overheating. car stopped working. they put more antifreeze in the jeep. all antifreeze fell right out.

they continued driving more.

car started shaking and making a horrible clicking noise.

these women wanted me to have someone bring them antifreeze and oil.

advised cannot do that. That the vehicle needed to go to a shop.

They then requested that i just send someone over to jump start the vehicle.

i had to put them on hold a breathe for a minute and figure out how to tell them that this was not going to be a quick fix.

[Hyndis]

One thing that somewhat aggravates me is how cryptic my car is. I have one of the new VW bugs, vintage 2001, and I occasionally get the warning light for some reason. Its sporadic but usually is on when I first start the car.

However, there are simply no useful gauges on the dash. Speed, fuel, and RPM, and thats it. It doesn't tell me how hot the engine is, what the oil level is, just a generic check engine light for some mysterious reason.

A lot of older cars have a far more informative dashboard. The newer ones dumb everything down to the point where they simply fail to convey important information.

[mattm04]

One thing that somewhat aggravates me is how cryptic my car is. I have one of the new VW bugs, vintage 2001, and I occasionally get the warning light for some reason. Its sporadic but usually is on when I first start the car.

However, there are simply no useful gauges on the dash. Speed, fuel, and RPM, and thats it. It doesn't tell me how hot the engine is, what the oil level is, just a generic check engine light for some mysterious reason.

A lot of older cars have a far more informative dashboard. The newer ones dumb everything down to the point where they simply fail to convey important information.

My 02 Chevy SUV has speed, rpm, fuel, temp, oil and voltage. Makes is much easier to see the health of the car.

[Bosch]

One thing that somewhat aggravates me is how cryptic my car is. I have one of the new VW bugs, vintage 2001, and I occasionally get the warning light for some reason. Its sporadic but usually is on when I first start the car.

However, there are simply no useful gauges on the dash. Speed, fuel, and RPM, and thats it. It doesn't tell me how hot the engine is, what the oil level is, just a generic check engine light for some mysterious reason.

A lot of older cars have a far more informative dashboard. The newer ones dumb everything down to the point where they simply fail to convey important information.

My manager just traded her bug off, the windows kept dropping down for no reason of course we work in the greater seattle area so her poor car was constantly getting snow and rain poured in it.. Full of electrical gremlins that car was, cute but a mess to deal with.

But my solution to not having the info I needed was to add a gauge to my pillar the beam that at the front of the drivers door but on the inside..

Pic so you get the idea of what I'm talking about you can also get get pods that mount to the dash top as well, I just went with the pillar since I have a GPS I use on the dash top when I road trip.


I run boost and EGT(exhaust gas temp) but you can get a replacement trim piece to hold the gauges and it doesn't take but a few hours to run the sensors and the wiring into the cab and mount it all up.. You can get just about any gauge you need, temp, oil pressure, tranny temp, fuel pressure you name it you can get a gauge for it.

[AriRashkae]

Speaking of idiot lights, my Corolla does allow you to reset the Check Engine light after an oil change. Usually, the shop does it, but occasionally, it doesn't reset itself. There's nothing hard about it--hold in the odometer button a few seconds, and crank the key. Light goes out

I just read this and it turns out that this will work on my husband's Yaris too! He still wants his toys though, but now I can spend the $$ getting 3-4 changes worth of oil at BJ's.