06-13-2007, 01:18 AM
Thanks everyone.
I'm guessing that $25 for the local mechanic is a pretty good deal. As I said, he was recommended by a coworker, but boy... his place is... shall we say, "interesting" ?
And yes, it's probably a good idea for him to look over other stuff... in particular I'd say my tires... roads here are awful, huge numbers of potholes.
AlphaDog, yes, I've seen that forum before (and a few others like it). The check engine light is usually due to a problem with the transmission giving an error code, but the error can itself be erroneous, which is why I'm guessing the previous mechanic said to ignore it (since he had just thoroughly serviced it, and as I said, he was entirely trustworthy). That's consistent with what's been posted about it in that forum, and that it went away on its own the last time it happened. I'll have to check the manual (yes, I do have it) to see if there is a separate "check oil" light-- I'd guess that there probably is. As for the rare loss of the power steering-- from what I can tell, that's most commonly due to a slipping or deteriorating serpentine belt. What's weird in my case is that it almost always happens when the car has been drenched (from a downpour), which makes me think the problem is more likely electrical or related to the sensors for the serpentine belt.
I'm guessing that $25 for the local mechanic is a pretty good deal. As I said, he was recommended by a coworker, but boy... his place is... shall we say, "interesting" ?
And yes, it's probably a good idea for him to look over other stuff... in particular I'd say my tires... roads here are awful, huge numbers of potholes.
AlphaDog, yes, I've seen that forum before (and a few others like it). The check engine light is usually due to a problem with the transmission giving an error code, but the error can itself be erroneous, which is why I'm guessing the previous mechanic said to ignore it (since he had just thoroughly serviced it, and as I said, he was entirely trustworthy). That's consistent with what's been posted about it in that forum, and that it went away on its own the last time it happened. I'll have to check the manual (yes, I do have it) to see if there is a separate "check oil" light-- I'd guess that there probably is. As for the rare loss of the power steering-- from what I can tell, that's most commonly due to a slipping or deteriorating serpentine belt. What's weird in my case is that it almost always happens when the car has been drenched (from a downpour), which makes me think the problem is more likely electrical or related to the sensors for the serpentine belt.