With all of the electronics added to cars you’d think that cars would be much harder to steal. (Did you ever try to get a key programmed for a vehicle? )

The number of stolen vehicles is going down but there’s still more than 1 million vehicles stolen in the US each year according to the latest stats from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (ncib.com).

Here is the list of the top 10 stolen vehicles. Btw – notice that your Porsche or BMW looks like it’s pretty safe…

1995 Honda Civic
1991 Honda Accord
1989 Toyota Camry
1997 Ford F-150 Pickup
2005 Dodge Ram Pickup
1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pickup
1994 Nissan Sentra
1994 Dodge Caravan
1994 Saturn SL
1990 Acura Integra

You try to save some money by getting a cheap used car that’s easy on gas and look where it gets you. There’s a good chance that your car will be chopped and sent to other countries. I’m not exactly sure what they do with your fuzzy dice or St. Christopher’s statue.

With the poor economy, one number that is going up is “owner give-ups”. That is the official term for the nitwits that file false vehicle theft reports after the owner burns, drowns or composts it. If you’re thinking about trying this, you might want to come up with another plan. The police aren’t going to be real understanding. They’ve seen all of these games already and they’re better at it than you!

Just saying…

Years ago car makers gave us “idiot lights” on our dash instead of gauges to warn us if there was a problem with our car. At first, there was the only the oil pressure, water temp and battery lights. Slowly the carmakers added more diagnostic systems with more lights. Then the  EPA forced them to add emission systems which added more lights. The idea was that the car’s diagnostic system would monitor the engine and tell us if there was some sort of engine malfunction. Over the years, we slowly did less and less preventative maintenance on our car and depended more and more on the idiot lights. We are at the point now that if there is a problem, most people have no idea what to do with their vehicle.

One of the most misunderstood lights is the “check engine light”. It started out as a warning that you were getting low on oil. Now it has a much more complicated meaning. As you drive, you car or truck is taking thousands of measurements in as many as a dozen computers in your car. Your vehicle stores that activity in another computer. When there is a problem with your vehicle, the diagnostic system records that problem and turns on the “check engine light” on your dash. It stores a number that translates to the recorded problem.

Finding out what the computer stores is easy. You can buy a gizmo to tell you what the computer says. The challenge is figuring out how to fix the car. The code just gives you the symptom. It doesn’t usually give you the exact repair. You have to guess what the REAL problem is!  The funny thing is that a national auto parts chain will read the code for you (free of charge), but can’t tell what is real problem is with your car. They will sell you the parts for the symptom, but not the malfunction. (Think about a pharmacist selling you aspirin for your broken arm!)  I’ve heard lots of stories about people buying $150 oxygen sensors when the real issue is an unrelated part.

Remember, usually you get what you pay for!

If you have had an experience (good or bad) with your Check Engine Light, let me know.