45% of americans do not care if their check engine light is on .

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by masraum

Most folks have some vehicles that are nothing more than an appliance to them, and are mostly considered consumable and disposable.

They also know very little about how their vehicles work, and don't really care. I'm always seeing people sitting for extended periods in their parked cars, windows up on a nice day, engine running, A/C on, while they play with their phones. Wasting fuel? Pollution? Wear & tear? Who cares!

Can't count the times where I've pulled up to someone at a stop light and they have their windows down with the A/C running (can hear the compressor clicking on & off).

And when it's barely raining enough to have the wipers sweep about once every 30 seconds, people have them running at warp speed.

They simply don't understand how these things work.

[rusnak]

Well...I'll raise my hand here and say that not only would I break out the OBDII scanner, but I've been known to use it on other people's cars who had "check engine" lights - if they ask me to of course. They know that I have all sorts of tools and am usually willing to help with everything from a brake job, to oil change, dead battery, flat tire, etc etc.

[911 Rod]

My 996TT say "take to workshop" or something like that.
Do not pass go!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rcooled

They also know very little about how their vehicles work, and don't really care. I'm always seeing people sitting for extended periods in their parked cars, windows up on a nice day, engine running, A/C on, while they play with their phones. Wasting fuel? Pollution? Wear & tear? Who cares!

Can't count the times where I've pulled up to someone at a stop light and they have their windows down with the A/C running (can hear the compressor clicking on & off).

And when it's barely raining enough to have the wipers sweep about once every 30 seconds, people have them running at warp speed.

They simply don't understand how these things work.

Here in Houston in the summer, yes, sitting in the car, running, AC on. Absolutely.

But yes, most folks have no idea how their cars work and they don't care. As long as they continue to get from point A to point B. When the car turns into a pain, they'll trade it in on another appliance.

I love the rain sensor on my boxster. It adjusts the speed of the wipers based on how hard it's raining. It does a pretty good job.

Originally Posted by rusnak

Well...I'll raise my hand here and say that not only would I break out the OBDII scanner, but I've been known to use it on other people's cars who had "check engine" lights - if they ask me to of course. They know that I have all sorts of tools and am usually willing to help with everything from a brake job, to oil change, dead battery, flat tire, etc etc.

Yes, I'll check my codes, and yes, I've been known to check codes for coworkers and family/friends as well.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by Noah930

That's partly because 2 of your 3 cars are too old to have CELs. If your Macan starts throwing CELs due to stupid but expensive electronic nanny stuff, you may change your tune.

AFAIK, CELs are thrown only by the standard emissions related codes.
The others are manufacturer specific e.g. brake/wheel speed sensors etc

It's partly why I like my '87 911 better than my '90. Soon after I bought my 964, some rubber air shroud/duct just above the fan in the engine compartment disintegrated. Or rather popped while I was driving, as it's slightly positively pressured, I think. Somehow that set off the knock sensor, which tripped the CEL. Even after I replaced the part, the CEL remained lit. I had to get the CEL extinguished at my mechanic (thanks, TRE) because I don't have the Durametric to do that.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/DURAENTH1.htm

$349 from our host is not bad in the p-car world.

[JackDidley]

No CEL here. It would drive me crazy to see one all the time.

[Brian 162]

The airbag light has been on on my Z06 for 2 years.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by jackdidley

no cel here. It would drive me crazy to see one all the time.

+930

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by Brian 162

The airbag light has been on on my Z06 for 2 years.

I accidentally killed the battery in my Cayman. That turns on the airbag light. It took a while but I figured out the only way to turn it off was Durametric. I hated that.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Brian 162

The airbag light has been on on my Z06 for 2 years.

Did you replace the steering wheel with a wheel that doesn't have an airbag? Or is it just something wrong?

[Brian 162]

Originally Posted by masraum

Did you replace the steering wheel with a wheel that doesn't have an airbag? Or is it just something wrong?

Yes the steering wheel has an airbag. I had the seat out, it's probably a loose connection. I'm going to deal with it this spring before I take it out of storage.
Others on The Corvette Forum have the same issue, usually a loose connection.

[pmax]

Would love to have a diagnostic port in the cabin in every car where I can monitor the AFR, temp and other engine vitals using a $50 scanner ...


oh wait ...

[petrolhead611]

In Britain cars over 3 years old have annual inspections that take 45 minutes. CEL and/ or airbag lights on are automatic fails ,and I think Traction Control is the same. Not only that, all fails, and even advisories, are documented forever in the Car's inspection history, which can be accessed readily online for future buyers to see.
From that information, one can deduce how well the car has been taken care of, eg if the same advisory appears the following year it doesn't look too good.

[sc_rufctr]

Should I drone on about old cars versus new cars? ... Probably not because that would be boring.

FWIW: New cars should be a whole lot "better" than they are.
It's almost like the manufacturer wants there to be problems so they can make more money fixing those problems.

My next "new" car will probably be a Tesla but my current daily will be here for a while yet.

[GG Allin]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Kind of hard to ignore when it is accompanied with X amount of starts left until engine is disabled......Thank you EPA, putzes....

What year did that start?

When I daily drove a 98 M3, my CEL was on all the time. I'd fix everything every two years to pass emissions. It'd usually come back on within a few months of that. Car always ran fine.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Inspections?? In MI...if you have the money for the plate...you are good to go.

When I got my Cobra replica finished in 1995 I lived in Iowa and the inspection included the state trooper looking at the MSO and issuing a VIN. He then said make sure its safe before you drive it.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by flipper35

When I got my Cobra replica finished in 1995 I lived in Iowa and the inspection included the state trooper looking at the MSO and issuing a VIN. He then said make sure its safe before you drive it.

Wow. Talk about differences in levels of assurance. JB's Benz can go into auto sleep with an OBD code and you get a word of caution.

Was it titled as a newer year or 1965?

[aigel]

I pull codes and if it is something benign that may come back before the next smog test, then I drag it out. I never drive with it on without checking what's behind it.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by aigel

I pull codes and if it is something benign that may come back before the next smog test, then I drag it out. I never drive with it on without checking what's behind it.

Yep. P0420 (cat efficiency) present in my 2004 RAV 4 for over three years. Comes and goes. I get it emission checked when it's happy.

For whatever reason, traction control warning lights come on when that OBD code is present. It self cleared recently and I was driving in snow and spun the front tires. There was a beeping noise and a little message that said "Loss of Traction" or the like on the little dash screen.

First I heard that in those three years. A wonder I survived.

[stevej37]

It's always nice to know that the light still works.