Warning

For the past few weeks Joe's car has had the "Airbag" indicator light on in his dash. I noticed it the few times I was driving his car to my evening classes. So, the other day, I suggested that Joe check his manual to see what the light being on meant. He said he thought it'd be pretty useless to check the manual since it probably won't say with certainty what the problem is. I decided to consult the manual, which said that we basically should take it to the shop to get it checked out, because the airbag may or may not be functioning. Duh. So, why do they even have such indicator lights? Does it REALLY mean that something is wrong with the airbag? I don't want to wait until an accident occurs to find out. Instead of all these stupid lights that go on when something is malfunctioning (which could be anything from a problem with the computer to an actual mechanical problem), they should just have one big warning light that says "TAKE THE CAR TO THE SHOP NOW!"

The last time the engine check light went on in my car, I was freaking out. "What does that mean? Is my car going to stop working. The engine appears to be working alright. Damn you Honda. This car is only a year old!" It turns out that the mechanic that did my last oil change simply neglected to reset the computer after my last service. Well that's what the service guy said before he reset the computer. What if something IS really wrong with the car? How can you just turn off the indicator without checking the whole engine first? Did you notice that mechanics are all shady? You really have no idea what they're doing to your car, but you just hope and pray that it's okay, especially after charging you a hefty portion of the value of the car. My dad was a mechanic for part of his life (the only non-shady one), and knowing the business, he used to tell me to never take the car in for service myself (because I'm a woman), even though I may be more knowledgeable than my husband about some car issues.

*Follow-up: The problem with the airbag has been rectified. Apparently there was a faulty wire. When Joe asked the technician if the airbag would have worked still, his answer was, "I dunno, but it's good that we didn't have to find out." Yes, indeed... moron.