CAR SENSOR JITTERS? IS A CODE READER THE RIGHT WAY TO GO?

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

April 5, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – You’re going out of town tomorrow—and your car sensor light warning “Service Engine Soon” goes on.  Car sensor jitters hit.  Most cars have sensors that reflect a door open, tire air pressure low and more, but “service engine sensor” is harder to decipher.

Trained mechanics can most likely rattle off codes to the sensors like a second language.  The rest of us?  Not so much. 

Google "code sensor meanings" and a number of stories will pull up pointing out that loose gas caps can set off a sensor.  Easy fix!  But some sites suggest that car sensors themselves can be broken.

Places like Pep Boys and O’Reilly Auto Parts post that they will read your codes for free. Smart phone users can download apps that claim to be sensor readers, for example Torque, to find out the meanings of codes.  Post on social media about learning and reading these mysterious sensor codes and the social media detectives will hit the situation head on--so much so that they will quickly try to figure out if a sensor app is a fraud. 

Amazon offers various prices for tools that allegedly read car’s codes such as BAFX Products 34t5 Bluetooth OBDII Scan Tool for Android devices, a relatively inexpensive tool.  Others are much more expensive, but knowledgeable vehicle owners or mechanics may use them in their own garages.

Ultimately, it is up to the driver where to go to decipher the “service engine sensor” light.  But the timing of when one should investigate sensor lights is rarely disputed -----find out as soon as possible.