My car lies to me.

"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
07/16/2015 at 01:14 • Filed to: None

Over the past 6 months of ownership, I’ve discovered that my car lies to me in at least 3 ways:

1. the temp gauge... it a lie that the engine temperature is such that it doesn’t fluctuate even slightly after the engine is warmed up.

2. When I want the HVAC to just blow regular outside air, when putting it on the defrost setting, it turns on the AC compressor even though the light for the AC is off.

3. The fuel gauge and low fuel light is pessimistic. When it shows I only have 1/3 of a tank left, I actually have about a half a tank. And when it shows ‘empty’ and the low fuel light is on, I actually have more like 1/5 of a tank left... which is enough to go at least another 100km.

Here’s a white Focus for the white lies it tells me...

DISCUSSION (16)

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/16/2015 at 01:21

2. When I want the HVAC to just blow regular outside air, when putting it on the defrost setting, it turns on the AC compressor even though the light for the AC is off.

I’ve been in a number of cars that do this. If you select the defog setting, the AC compressor comes on.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart
07/16/2015 at 01:24

defog

Shhh, your wrinkles are showing . No one has used the term “defog” in at least 3 decades

Berang > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/16/2015 at 01:25

My Renault would run out of gas within seconds of the fuel light turning on. If the light came on I knew I had about a block to find a gas station. My current car’s light comes on when there are still about two gallons of gas in the tank.

GhostZ > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/16/2015 at 01:35

A lot of cars calibrate the fuel gauge so that you have 1-2 gallons left in the tank when it hits empty on purpose.

Tohru > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
07/16/2015 at 02:43

Quiet you young whipper snapper, or I’ll make ya drink a nice glass of high-test.

traitor joe > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart
07/16/2015 at 02:56

This is a pretty common feature, since AC acts as a dehumidifier and speeds up the process.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
07/16/2015 at 03:57

(not) surprisingly, Subaru referred to it as a “defogger” in its owners manuals up until very recently.

MuchWagon > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/16/2015 at 06:46

My #Muchwagon #ZXWFTW is similar/same as your pic and I’ve got none of those issues. Although I should try out the defroster thing with the AC.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > GhostZ
07/16/2015 at 06:54

GM on the other hand says that when the light goes on and the needle is squarely on E, my Silverado has about 6 gallons of diesel left in it.

vwbeamer > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/16/2015 at 08:49

The temp gauge on my TDi does the same. By hooking a scangauge up, I can see that temp can vary from 170-210 F, yet the dash gauge will stay locked in the middle.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart
07/16/2015 at 10:06

Yeah I know. But this is the first car I’ve owned that does this. But on the bright side, having the AC kick in doesn’t seem to hurt the power and fuel economy as noticeably as on cars I’ve driven in the past.

spookiness > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
07/16/2015 at 10:25

I have a secret crush on the ZXW. A unicorn 5-spd would be such a handy 2nd car to have.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > spookiness
07/16/2015 at 12:33

Well mine is just like that one... only in black

Forrest > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
08/04/2015 at 01:37

The 5-speed Focus Wagons aren’t that hard to find in California. I see them on my local Craigslist regularly. Now, if someone did an SVT engine/suspension swap into a wagon, I might bite...

SVTyler > Forrest
08/04/2015 at 20:53

This is about as close as anyone got:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-Ford-…

Forrest > SVTyler
08/05/2015 at 12:50

very cool!