[Hulksmash]

Why do automotive engineers insist on screwing something made of steel into something made of aluminum without proper corrosion protection. Yea i'm not pulling the cylinder head and having a machine shop drill out one bad glow plug. Check Engine light can stay on for that.

[Slugman]

That's what Les Schwab always said about my Subaru wheels, aluminum on steel, they had to kick the side of the tire, sometimes dozens of times, real donkey kicks, to get the wheels free from the hubs.

[Hulksmash]

Yea thanks for the reminder. VW does no have lug nuts, they have lug bolts. So the Aluminum wheel is machined to closer tolerances to the steel hub. Yea having to change a flat can be interesting. Good thing i had a pruning saw with me last time. Had to make a 10 foot pry bar.

[wolffie]

Have you noticed that you can smell the difference between a modern car with emissions controls and a vintage car without? There are many way-cool vintage cars in my neighborhood, and sometimes when one passes by, the odor whisks my memory back to my misspent youth in the early 60s. Amazing how smells trigger memories. When my CEL comes on, I just lift the hood, obediently check the engine (it's usually still there), and drive on without guilt. Candid Camera did a skit wherein they'd coast a car without an engine into a service station and ask the poor sod pumping gas to check the oil. I ignored my Check Coolant idiot light for a long time once. Big mistake (hey, I'm an idiot). Turned out to be a defective temperature sensor, whose input to the computer is important.

[Bedivere]

Ahh, the smell of incomplete combustion.

[boot up]

Pro-smoking, Anti anti-pollution devices, pro-clearcutting..... I am seeing a trend on the Back to Nature hiking forum, but I can't quite figure out what it is.....

[grannyhiker]

When mine goes on, it simply means that the service guy forgot to flip a switch at my last oil change, so the car "thinks" it's due for an oil change. This has happened several times and just means going back for an almost instant fix. If it happens again, I'm going to try to find out how to do it myself. Car is a 2006 Toyota Matrix. This also happened with my previous car, a Honda Civic. I am careful not to exceed the mileage to the next oil change, which is what triggers the light. Of course this may not be true for other makes/models of vehicles.

[Malachai Constant]

The check engine light is different from the Chang oil, maintenance, etc. light. You can find instruction on resetting the maintence light on the web it usually requires some combination of odometer reset button and starting. The check engine light resets when you disconnect the battery but will come on again if the condition is still present.

[wolffie]

With today's over-computerized cars, one could have fun hacking them and inserting creative warning messages: "Engine missing" "use turn signal next time" "don't drive slow in the center lane" "Slow traffic use turnouts. Delay of 5 vehicles illegal. Delay of any vehicles sinful." "phone bill is overdue" "Jesus would not be tailgating that car in front of you." "check your fly" "Call Mom" "There's something on your face." "You're going to die."