Any car guys/gals here?

[madamesilverspurs]

Just got a mechanical diagnosis on something I'm not familiar with.

I drive a 2002 Dodge Caravan. It's actually running fine, but a warning light came on so I took it in to get checked. They say it's the power steering rack, and it's going to cost as much as $1400 to fix (which means I'll have to park it until I can figure out how to pay for the repair).

Anyway, since it's asymptomatic other than the warning light, is it safe to continue driving it? I asked the guy at the shop and he just shrugged his shoulders. Frustrating!

Thanks for any feedback.

[liberal N proud]

1. Is the car have steering problems?

I can't think of any case where the warning light comes on with power steering. I could be wrong, but it just sounds strange.

Here is what I would do. Take your car to one of the Automotive Parts stores like Advance Auto or AutoZone and ask them to run the OBD II scanner on your car. This is a free service they perform, they may try to sell you something but you are not obligated.

It will be a device they plug into the car, under your dash and it will read the computer for error codes. The codes can be interpreted to give you better understanding of what is wrong.

Then find someone who has a good mechanic that they trust and take your car there and let them diagnose the problem, If it does not match what you got from the scan, then you know something is up.

The key is having an idea of what is wrong before you go into the shop, it helps slow the bogus diagnosis.

I purchased an OBD II scanner for myself just so I know what is wrong before I go and many times I can fix it myself.

Hope this helps a little.

[madamesilverspurs]

2. Thanks, I'll give that a try.

It's just so weird, seeing as how it drives just fine.

[liberal N proud]

3. Many symptoms can only be detected by the OBD II codes

But they can effect your gas mileage.

[madamesilverspurs]

4. Well,

I guess I can stop suspecting my neighbors of siphoning my gas, eh?

[mockmonkey]

5. I found this

I'm not familiar with Dodge and their instrument panels and it seems to work for some models but not others.

This other list is a link to what the codes mean, if your code is not there you can try googling the code.

http://www.allpar.com/fix/computer-codes.html

[OriginalGeek]

6. cool thing!

I'm gonna go home and try that on our 2003 Chrysler mini-van. Thanks for that!

[madamesilverspurs]

8. Phooey.

Tried this, but the odometer/trip meter is not LED, just the numbers on a rotating cylinder. Thanks for taking the time to pass on the info, though.

[hunter]

7. It's bogus if there are no actual symptoms.

From my own experience with these cars (I've owned two) a computer or sensor problem is more likely. Is it leaking? Is the power steering fluid low?

Fixing our own Caravan, which was reporting a transmission error and wouldn't pass smog, was a pain in the ass. The Chrysler dealer wanted $900. I said "no" went home, searched the internet, and slept on it. I figured it out, but it was the kind of thing that I might charge $900 for too... $3.00 parts, $897 brain sweat and labor. More profitable for a shop to replace the whole damned circuit board.



I hate computers in cars.