Very Cool Car Gadget Saves You Big Bucks

Ever had that darn annoying little "check engine" light come on in the middle of nowhere? Did you take your car in to the dealership to find out what it meant and/or to turn it off? Did you have a cow and start foaming at the mouth when the dealer told you that it would cost you a ridiculous 75 bucks just to "hook up your car and see what the computer says"? And that the fee doesn't include the cost to fix it?

Arrgh. Are you incredibly annoyed and feel like you're being taken to the cleaners? Again? By the same dealer that sold you this mega thousand dollar car only to have a dumb little light blink at you?

Well, don't get scammed. Get even. At least get informed. There's a very cool little thing-a-ma-jiggy called the CarChip E/X.

All you have to know is that you buy it, plug it into your car, and drive. If that silly little check engine light comes on, just unplug the CarChip E/X, plug it into your computer and, voila! It tells you what the car is trying to tell you. Well, almost. It tells you a ton of things, but the main thing it does is give you a code that indicates what the problem is.

You'll have to do a little research on the web, but it's very easy to find out what that code represents. Nine times out of ten, it indicates a loose gas cap. That would be a very expensive trip to the dealer if you didn't have the CarChip and just went to the dealer.

If the CarChip indicates a different code, you might have a chance to fix whatever the problem is without having to go to the dealer, and save yourself beaucoup bucks. Of course, you could always go to the dealer to have them fix it, but at least you'll be informed when you go in there and less likely get taken for a ride. You know what they say, knowledge is power.

The CarChip is like a little black box for your car. Since 1996, thanks to emission control regulations, just about every car sold in the USA adheres to a protocol called an OBDII. This includes a plug which allows anyone with a computer hookup or scanner (like the CarChip) to plug into the car's computer and download information.

With the CarChip E/X plugged into your car, it records up 300 hours of your driving data. This includes: time and date for each trip, distance, speed, hard accelerations and braking, and engine diagnostic trouble codes. If you happen to have the misfortune of getting into an accident, the CarChip E/X will automatically generate an accident log showing the last critical 20 seconds of speed.

In addition to recording the basic trip data, you can pick four other parameters to record ranging from RPM, engine coolant temperature, throttle position, fuel pressure, battery voltage, etc. Using the included software, you can then graph out the data to show you how your vehicle is performing.

What good is that? It makes it much easier help figure out why your car is behaving or running a certain way. It makes you an informed owner when you need to bring in your vehicle for service. One more great feature is that the CarChip lets you reset your check engine light.

If the problem was an intermittant one, resetting your check engine light might be your solution. But please keep in mind, if the check engine light persistantly comes on, and you can't figure out what the problem is, take your car in for diagnosis - it could be something more serious.

One more big bonus for any of you out there with teenagers of driving age - the CarChip E/X is like a nanny thats always with your driver. Every time the vehicle is driven, CarChip E/X records how your teenager is driving. Every hard acceleration, hard braking, or excessive revving of the engine is recorded for you to download and see. Since the CarChip records every insertion or removal from the vehicle, they can't disconnect it without you knowing.

You can use it on just about any vehicle; share it between vehicles and lend it to your friend. For less than the price to two trips to the dealer, you can get the CarChip E/X (or it's cheaper mate, CarChip, which has a more limited feature set) for about $150. (Sears.com is one place that carries it). There's no better gadget for the automotive nut in this price range.

Trust me, I know. I didn't buy the company, but I did buy their product :)