No Need to Follow Blindly

As a young man, I always obeyed instructions. The shampoo bottle explicitly stated to wet the hair, apply shampoo, rinse. And then repeat.

So, I would repeat.

Eventually I realized the Repeat step was not needed. My short hair was always clean whether I applied shampoo twice or once.

However, applying shampoo twice meant using up each tube at twice the speed.

Which is probably what the manufacturer wanted.

But sometimes, the potential consequences of not following instructions can be severe.

Last month, as the missus and I approached our dentist’s office in Lebanon, the car sort of bucked, then kept vibrating, and a trio of dashboard lights came on.

Because we were on a highway, I couldn’t pull over and go through the manual to see what each light meant.

In my younger days, all the dashboard lights gave you words, in English. If you knew the language, you couldn’t misunderstand. But now the dashboard lights are in pictographs that make no sense to me.

One of the lit lights, though, was in English: Check Engine. Guess that one’s important enough to spell out.

When we exited the highway, I stopped at a red light. While stopped, I shifted into Park. The vibrating stopped. When the light turned green, I resumed driving. The car resumed its shuddering vibrations.

At the dental office, I brought the owner’s manual in with me to see what I was dealing with.

According to the manual, if the Check Engine light is on, regardless of whatever other lights are on, you need to take it to the dealership as soon as possible. “Continued vehicle operation without having the emission control system checked and repaired as necessary could cause serious damage.”

Well, I was in Lebanon, but I live in Claremont. I don’t know if the car maker even has a dealership in Lebanon. There are plenty of mechanics in Lebanon, and some of them might be great, but I wanted my trusted mechanic in Claremont to look at it.

In the end, I took a calculated risk and drove us back to Claremont.

The car shuddered and vibrated the whole way.

Yes, I realized this might have risked the car’s health. But it’s a car with 80,000 miles on it. I wasn’t risking an expensive car. If worst came to worst, I’d cash in my savings bonds and buy another used car.

After dropping my missus off at the house, I drove to the trusted mechanic, who ascertained there was no immediate danger. I made an appointment for another day to have it thoroughly examined and repaired. In the meantime, we would limit our driving to Claremont only.

Within a week the car was fixed. Even though I did not take the car to a dealership.

I don’t like the dealership. It’s too far away for me to leave a car there and walk home. The mechanic is a bit less than a mile away. Walking distance.

Few weeks later, a different bizarre pictograph lit up on the dashboard. And remained on. This image, said the manual, refers to air bags. If this light comes on, “Immediately take your vehicle to the dealer to have the system checked.” Instead, I decided to give it some time. Few days later, the warning sign stopped lighting up. Without my spending a cent.

Seems to me the manual should be written more honestly, such as: “If this light goes on, take the vehicle to one of our dealerships, so we will be the ones who get paid for diagnosing the problem and making any repairs. And if it can’t be repaired, or costs too much to be repaired, then before you leave the premises, we’ll sic our ultra-persistent sales force on you to persuade you to buy another of our cars.”

Yes, a smart consumer should know the rules and read the instructions.

But there’s no need to follow all instructions blindly.