Main Menu
Q--I wish you would write a column directed to the automakers about how incredibly stupid that “check engine” message is. You would think they could show some other reasonable message. Every once in a while I get frantic cell phone calls from my wife or daughter when that message is displayed. How hard would it be to display ‘check gas cap’ or some other appropriate message?
I think it is just a ruse to get unsuspecting people to take their car to the dealer or local mechanic so they can then charge you all kinds of money for checking everything out.
A--It is working, isn’t it? The whole idea is to alert motorists of a problem with enough urgency to seek service, but not enough to frighten them from the freeway immediately.
There are already a variety of messages available, but they are in the form of codes that technicians must interpret.