Minivan Website/Service Cost Rant

Jul 29, 2004 23 Replies
B

Argghhh! That reminds me in the 80's when GM had the brilliant idea of a flag that would physically pop out beside the odometer every 60k (or was it 30k?) miles to tell you to have the catalytic converter checked and serviced. Except for dedicated DIY'ers, the only way to reset the flag was to take the vehicle into the dealer and have them reset the flag (required partially dismantling the instrument cluster). What a pain!

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

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N

Twas a EPA requirement for that model/engine combo for reasons forgotten 20 years ago.

30K and the flag popped up -over- the odometer. The service procedure was to replace the beads in the cat-con.

Took all of 10 minutes to reset, and the first one (at 30K) was on GM.

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M

I don't know what the relationship is in a car engine for coolant, but another factor in most chemical reactions is mixing. The coolant will move faster and be mixed more at higher RPM. I've already admitted that mileage is far from a perfect surrogate for coolant degradation, but then again, most maintenance recommendations based on either mileage or time are far from perfect substitutes based on the wide range of driving styles and conditions.

Matt

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M

Thankfully, my employer obviated the need for beads! :-)

Matt

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