At 01:20 PM 5/9/2012, Don Hanson wrote:
>need to know.   Now they give us the wonderfull "Check Engine" light on
>newer cars, which means "Grab your credit car and your Smart Phone, call

Be fair, that's sort of like the Master Warning Light on a fighter
aircraft panel - says that one of two hundred or so things has gone
out of spec somehow.  So you stick a code reader on it to find out
which.  If you had gauges for all of them the car would look like a
fighter aircraft, and probably cost like one as well.

They still give you all the warning lights for OIL/ALT and such that
they used to.

I was recently reading about a BMW though that I found a bit
scary.  No dipstick for oil.  If the low oil light comes on, a) add
some oil.  If it's still on, b) drain oil and replace with correct
amount.  If it's still on, troubleshoot the warning
light.  GAHHHHH!!!  To me there's something utterly perverse in that,
and I find it hard to believe that the same people who built our vans
(RVC) did it.

Yours,
David