I think my van is on the outs

[supernova]

When I was driving to work this morning, the "CHECK ENGINE" light came on.....

:scared: :scared:

I wonder if I can get home this afternoon. :scared: :eyes:

[kick-ass-bob]

1. nah - that just means it needs a checkup.

pretty soon, though.

[supernova]

2. Ugh, I just spent close to

a grand on it over xmas. :P

edit: :hi: Bob! Do you want to meet up on the 25th of this month! Sugar Smack wants to be there. :bounce:

[kick-ass-bob]

15. that's my wife's b'day - so I think I'm already occupied that day.

Plus, we have other things that day which are interfering with that, even! :crazy:

Of course, none of those other days worked for me either. :shrug:

Why does it seem that I will never see you guys again???? :(

[supernova]

17. I know,

I'm getting a complex! :-( :P

Too bad, we'll have fun with out you! :D

[Lars39]

3. Our check engine light has been on for about 40,000 miles.

At one point we put electricians tape over it. :D
In our case it is something to do with the wiring. We stay up-to-date on the maintenance,
other than that.

[Crazy Dave]

4. One time a "check engine" light cost me $700

I wish you much better luck than I had. It really pissed me off too that I had to spend that much for a car that was still running. It was a Ford.

[supernova]

5. That's my big fear

I hope it's nothing. But still. I just rolled over 130,000 miles.

[Crazy Dave]

7. 130,000 is great

My Escort only had about 40,000 miles on it when problems started to occur frequently. Mostly electrical. I think before I traded it in on my current '98 Toyota Camry with 97,000 currently miles on it I had paid almost as much in repairs as the cost of the car itself as I keep my vehicles a long time too.
However, not counting normal wear and tear items I've only had to replace the alternator on my Camry and that was at around 80,000 miles and the total cost was less than $300.

[MindPilot]

9. I retired after twenty years as a Ford electrical technician, and

I would like to personally thank you for your contribution. :hi:

[Crazy Dave]

10. NP

I'm sure I helped put somebody's kids who worked at Ford through college with that lemon they built. Your future techs won't ever see a dime from me again though. We only buy Toyotas in our household now. My wife bought a Tacoma four years ago and in another two years or three I'll get the new Camry Hybrid. Too bad about the 30,000 workers that will be out work in five years or less but had they built a better car I might have bought another Ford in my lifetime and there are probably tens of thousands of ex Ford owners like myself that the company has shitted on and sent away to their competitors. Matter of fact, I think Ford is the best thing that ever happened to the Japanese auto manufacturers myself. The whole company needs to be shut down and put out of business in my opinion and I hope to see it one day in my lifetime. If they want to steal money from consumers get a gun, don't screw them with faulty equipment and keep them coming in for repairs.

[MindPilot]

12. no argument from me...I drive a Nissan

But I do disagree that Ford is the best thing that's happened to the Japanese car biz; that honor I think goes to GM. Chrysler helped a lot too. I've worked for all three, and Ford is light years ahead of the other two in terms of quality, customer service and the company's treatment of dealership personnel. So I'll leave it to your imagination how dreadful the "other two" must be.

My dad used to say "Jesse James with a cash register."

[Crazy Dave]

13. My wife works for a Dodge dealer

And the mechanics there stay real busy. One told her he works on more new cars that are less than two years old than he does on older cars. I guess because they must completely fall apart after six years.
Not like my old '69 Coronet.

[MindPilot]

14. Or my 66 Dodge van which went over 400,000 miles

before it tossed a rod. Still had the original shocks. My dad bought it brand new, I learned to drive in it (actually I learned more than just driving in it!) and my son learned to drive in it. (I don't want to know.)

Obviously dealers are going to work on more new cars because of the warranties. Out of warranty, people tend to go to the independent shops unless it's one of those the-dealer-has-to-do-that type of problems.

One dealer I worked at had both Ford & Chrysler/Plymouth. I was really shocked at how bad the Chrysler quality was, especially the electronics--I already thought Ford was bad--and how little the company allowed the techs to charge. For example, finding a wiring problem for Ford was actual time spent, Chrysler paid a half hour max and that had to be pre-authorized. So a Chrysler with a weird electrical problem would just sit there until I had nothing else to do because I was basically not going to get paid to fix it.

Have your wife ask the techs if any of them ever had to do the Imperial fuel injection-to-carburetor conversions--that was a real horror show and a perfect example of some of the whatthefuckweretheythinking things that american car companies do.

[LostinVA]

11. Ignore it -- it's just a censor

I had a car whose "CE" light came on at 9k... never went off. Itw as still on when I traded in the car years later... with 130k on it.

[mikeytherat]

6. Could just be the Oxygen Sensor (easy to replace and cheap)

If it's just your oxygen sensor, you can replace it yourself. Sometimes I have to heat 'em up with a torch to get 'em loose, but it just unscrews, you screw the new one in, plug the sensor wire back in, and you're good to go! If the oxygen sensor has never been replaced, it definitely might go at 130K (most will last 60-80K).

mikey_the_rat

[supernova]

8. That would be great!

That would make my day!

[BigMcLargehuge]

16. check to see if you gas cap is loose

that will trigger as well.

[supernova]

18. That's something I hadn't thought of

:think: I'll look, thanks, BMcLH. :pals: