2007 by The Car Connection All Rights Reserved
More mechanical wisdom from Bob Weber Books never read Q–In some recent columns, there’s been a discussion about the procedure for resetting the service reminder for cars after an oil change. I think a better answer to his question would have been for you to have told him to look for that information in the owner’s manual of his car. I’ve been taking my Honda Civic to an independent garage and they failed to reset the service reminder light.
So I cleverly thought to look in my owner’s manual and there, much to my surprise, were the instructions for how to reset it! Who would have figured? So before you resort to black tape or harassing your car’s dealership service department (they probably won’t know how, either) read the owner’s manual. It’s absolutely amazing what kind of stuff you’ll find in it! A–The owner’s manual is one of the least read books in the English language.
It is often the most lost book, too, as it seldom seems to go along with a used car when sold. Oxygen-starved Q–I have a 1997 Dodge Stratus with a 2.4-liter four and I have changed the oxygen sensor twice already in two months. It just went bad again. Every time I run diagnostics, it shows that the oxygen sensor is the only problem. Once it goes bad, the car drives fine, but gas usage increases by 37 percent, which is horrible.
I have over 230,000 miles on this car, but I am not ready to buy a new one yet. Any ideas what is causing this problem? A–Oxygen sensors do not usually die, they are poisoned. This can come from such things as silicone that is sprayed near the engine or from antifreeze in the coolant. A head gasket leak is a common culprit. Have yours checked out. Big lugs Q–I had my tires rotated and was told I needed a rear brake job, but I was told they were okay for a little while.