A New Image Please!
We are going to have a little fun here, pretty much at my expense.
We have long railed about the images chosen for warning lights. They are intended to be easily interpreted by the average driver, but nearly across the board are a total fail. Follow along to see why!
For instance, the check engine light uses the image of an engine configuration that is rarely if ever seen anymore. A belt driven fan on the front and an air cleaner on the top.
An entire generation of drivers have never seen an engine like this, but they are supposed to understand and recognize the check engine light as an engine problem.
The oil light uses an image of an oil can that hasn’t been seen in 50 years. We went looking for images of this style oil can and found one — literally old and rusted. Drivers interpret warning lights through the filters of their own experience, and this one is more easily associated with a Aladdin’s lamp. Thank the movies and tv.
And then there’s the tire pressure warning or TPMS light. Again, it is meant to be easily recognized and understood, but its a slice of a tire! Who’s ever seen a slice of tire? Using their own experience, drivers calling service departments I’ve worked in have called this an exclamation point in parenthesis or brackets, an exclamation point in a horseshoe, flames – destined to be a classic! Remember, the light is a yellow amber color.
A wishbone, an exclamation point in a fish bowl. That even accounts for the lip. An exclamation point in a cup, And finally, my personal favorite, a candle in a glass!
Not a single caller ever described the light as an exclamation point in a slice of a tire.
So here’s the fun part. I paid a visit to a local Audi car dealer recently, and well here it is.
An Actual Slice of a Tire!
An Actual Slice of a Tire!I flipped it over to take the picture to be sure the tread was visible, because it wasn’t sitting the other way around on the shelf.
The dealer the piece to be able to point out reinforcement in the tread near the edges for cornering, certainly something Audi prides itself on. And they have a list of manufacturers who make sure their tires can be recommended by the company.
So, now we’ve seen a slice of tire and so too any number of customers getting service at this particular store. But having seen this, the warning light does not immediately become recognizable. Note the low profile nature of the tire that was sliced. This type of profile is seen on damn near everything today, again adding to the obsolescence of the warning light.
So we get to keep our reasoning. The typical warning light simply doesn’t reflect not only the real life experiences of drivers, they don’t even reflect the reality of today’s cars!
The upshot is this experience allows us to repeat a call to the industry to let the car talk to the driver. Its time for plain language explanations for what is wrong and should or needs to be done. Period.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
The problem is real and in this article we will echo the calls for action, expand on the danger, add some comments on potential solutions, and finally add our primary concerns to the mix.
The Times article talks about the Society of Automotive Engineers, which called for among other things adding a series of beeps to alert the driver that a car when the key fob is removed. But I will add a personal anecdote that will illustrate why this idea should be shut down. The Times piece also bemoans the lack of regulations here, which we’ll touch on in a moment.
And you simply haven’t lived until you’ve tried to talk someone through the process of prying off a piece of their car to unlock it over the phone. A dozen major auto manufacturers are now responsible for this useless bit of aggravation.
What we want to focus on are primarily systems related to driver assist functions as well as those that lean towards drive by wire. This last group covers systems like braking and steering that are now electronic or moving in that direction.
In todays world, the lights are essentially meaningless. What does a driver do if the 
Although in point of fact, sometimes these problems can actually resolved by restarting the car.
On February 28 (2018) GM noted in a press release that it had added 27 facilities to its list of 142 facilities, both manufacturing and non manufacturing, that are 100% landfill free. To be clear, these facilities send absolutely nothing to landfills, period.
Recycling efforts include turning used water bottles for air filtration elements, sound proofing for vehicles, or insulation, like the piece John Bradburn is holding. Tires are ground up to be used to make air baffles for GM cars and trucks. Cardboard and packing materials are baled at manufacturing
Metal chips are collected at GM’s Flint Engine plant and shipped to a supplier that recycles the chips into new materials.
The release of the Tesla Model 3 seems to be at the heart of the current news wave. So, while I love the direction that Tesla is taking the automobile industry and what I’ve seen of the Model 3, let’s remember that it is just a car.
the Model 3 will stand alone.
Back to the Bolt, it is a step back for Chevrolet. The Volt looks like and is a wonderful, useful, attractive sedan. While it shares some styling cues from the Chevrolet line, the Bolt returns to what U.S manufacturers have done since the 70s when they’ve attempt to build a car ultimately aimed at saving gasoline – making them too small and too unappealing.
Meanwhile, the Leaf is a definite step in the right direction for Nissan. It important to remember that the Asian market is far more important to them than the U.S. market and that the Leaf already sells well. Range anxiety is far less an issue overseas. That said, the restyle is far more appealing – the Leaf now actually looks like a Nissan – and sales will likely expand across the board.
Recall GM Coupes Before Someone Else Dies!
Yet another cringe worthy headline showed up on Twitter recently (September 2018). A man trapped in his car because the battery was dead. And for 14 hours. He was very, very lucky that the car wasn’t outside in the sun, or the outcome would have been very, very different.
This one hits home for us because of another incident several years ago that prompted this article on this site, but in this case, a man lost his life. So, all this needs a more thorough examination.
The problem is finding oneself locked in a car that has lost its power. It is a direct result of the move to all
electronic everything, right down to the door latches. It is also the result of very, very poor design.
Both of the incidents involve GM Coupes: a Chevrolet Corvette and a Cadillac XLR. They feature these flush door handles with a electronic button inside this opening that unlocks and opens the door if the key fob is present. If the power is lost when inside the car, the electronic button on the armrest no longer works, and while there is a back
up option, it is not remotely obvious and effectively not intuitive.
Where’s the Release?
The back up option is a mechanical release handle on the floor below the door, not on the door where any typical human would think to look. In the most recent episode, the owners manual was missing from the 12 year old XLR, which is all too common in older vehicles. And he didn’t have a cell phone with him, or he surely would have
been out of his car much sooner.
In the previous incident, the gentleman had gone to the car to check on his dog, leaving his cell phone behind. Relatives reported that there was evidence that the man was looking through the manual for help when he succumbed to the heat. He and dog passed away.
It is far too easy to blame the victim here. It is true that they were not familiar with the feature. Both cars were bought used, so expecting the seller to go over more obscure features is wishful thinking.
Age Again?
It is also way too easy to blame age — the men were 75 and 72, respectively. This is when I point to an incident relayed by 20 year olds. Their friend had bought a new BMW. He then let them in the car to check it out and locked the car from the outside.
The joke was that there was no way to unlock the doors from the
inside. I immediately pointed out that there IS a way out — just not where you would expect to look. The unlock button is placed in the middle of the dashboard, and the entire group was clearly unfamiliar with this quirk in a BMW. And it belongs exclusively to BMW.
Age is NOT the issue. Expectation and intuition is. Where did these 20-somethings look for an unlock button?
The Model X front doors are all mechanically released from the inside. Perfect.
The Model 3 has a mechanical handle exactly where you would hope. On the armrest pretty much where a hand would actually be while using the armrest. It was tempting to simply open the door with it each time. A superior design.
The last two examples are far better thought out. And before anyone else finds themselves trapped in a GM Coupe, irrespective of age, we think a new way to open the doors from the inside must be devised and the cars recalled.
In our last show, we talked about changing the behavior of the one vs the behavior of the millions. And this is yet another example.
Changing the one, the manufacturer, eliminates the need for millions drivers to read, and frankly memorize, crucial new features or the entire owner’s manual. It also eliminates the need for millions of salespeople to somehow suddenly become effective teachers. Someone else’s dad, mom, brother, sister, son, daughter, husband or wife should not have to die or nearly die over poorly thought out designs.
——————————————————————-
Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY