Behold, the Wonder of Technology!

Do you remember when you had to keep a tire gauge in the glove box?  How about getting pulled over because you had a tail-light burned out?  These are things of the past, my friends.  You see, amongst other things, cars are able to tell us these sorts of things.

For example: Two weeks ago, my right rear tire was losing about 3 lbs of pressure every day, and as it turns out, I had 2 nails in one tire (I drive directly past two construction supply yards on my way to work, one that is located exactly at a very rough railroad crossing, so you can imagine just how many nails may be in the roadway.)  I knew this without some disastrous blowout or completely flat tire because my car told me.  For a week straight, my car told me to fix that tire, but I kept putting air in it every morning rather than patch it.  And my car was relentless about giving me the business until  I quit being lazy/cheap and got it fixed.

Today, my car informed me that a light bulb had burned out.  Not just a lightbulb, but specifically, the right rear brake light.  I didn't have to get a "fix-it" ticket to know this.  And this is all information I get for free, as an average consumer with absolutely no mechanical or electrical work needed. 

If you're like me and not afraid to pop the hood and turn a wrench, you can buy (for an extremely affordable $100 or so) a code reader which will, as easily as plugging a cord into a socket,  tell you not only why your check engine light is on, but will also give you an error code you can use to reference exactly what has gone wrong with your car.  Or you can go to Autozone, and they'll read the code and print it out for free.  Whether your oxygen sensor or mass air-flow sensor has gone bad, or your gas cap is loose, you'll know within minutes for very little outlay.

The concept of a modern day "unreliable" car is unfounded, and the fact that the cars are designed to communicate so well exactly what is wrong puts even more of the blame on negligent owners.  My point is, if your tire pressure light comes on, look into it.  If your "check engine" light illuminates, by all means, check your engine or pay someone to check it for you.  Your car is trying it's hardest to be reliable and dependable.