Maybe a dumb question but....

[bigbadfords]

Maybe a dumb question here so you guys can make a **** out of me if you want to...but anyway, do these cars have a CEL along with the SES light? or is there no "actual" CEL, just the SES light that serves as the check engine light??

 

[Izzmo]

I always thought they were synonymous with each other. But to answer your question, no, the gen3 (and gen1/2 for that matter) only have a "Service Engine Soon" or a "Check Engine Soon" light.

 

[bigbadfords]

Thanks izzmo, I always assumed they were synonymous as well, but to make a long story short here, a friend of mine has a gen2 and claims it has a "check engine light" and that my gen3 should have one as well. I try to explain to him that I have a "service engine soon" light, but he still claims I should have a CEL also because his gen2, according to him, has both......I told him I never heard of such a thing, but he swears that he knows what he is talking about....what a *******!!!!

 

[SHOclass]

Gen I and II's do have a CEL and i've never seen an SES light (on) on either of them.

 

[venom]

Thanks izzmo, I always assumed they were synonymous as well, but to make a long story short here, a friend of mine has a gen2 and claims it has a "check engine light" and that my gen3 should have one as well. I try to explain to him that I have a "service engine soon" light, but he still claims I should have a CEL also because his gen2, according to him, has both......I told him I never heard of such a thing, but he swears that he knows what he is talking about....what a *******!!!!

The correct term for them regardless of what the lighted legend says is "MIL" (Malfunction Indicator Lamp). On newer cars it just shows a wrench icon, on the Gen 3 it is a SES (Service Engine Soon), and on other cars it is a "Check Engine" labeled light.

MIL is the proper term regardless of how it is labeled.

 

[platoribs]

There are cars (Lexus LS 400 IIRC) that have two levels of check engine of service engine soon. The manual explains which ones should triger immediate shut off, and which one you should look into when its convenient. lol

My Thunderbird SC has an indicator to tell you to look at the gauge which is indicating you are low on fuel, seriously! the SC with the information box will tell you three times you running out of gas then it will quit telling you because it figures you passed the stoopid test!