Making sense of the gauges
In the olden days, automobiles did not come with so many gauges and warning lamps, so people those days needed to use their senses - eyes, ears and nose - to notice any irregularities.
When I first became interested in cars, the gauges found in automobiles included the speedometer, water temperature, fuel level, battery level and charging, as well as oil pressure. There’s also a parking brake light on the fascia.
However, today cars and trucks come with a much larger number of functions and warning lamps. If the driver doesn’t fully study the owner’s manual and understand these warnings, then there could be problems.
I have been asked by more than three people why modern automobiles don’t come with temperature gauges. How would the driver know whether the engine temperature is too high, and how do the warnings on the fascia help the driver?
Let me break the answer up into separate parts. There are many budget cars that do not come with fuel temperature gauges. They include the Mazda2, Toyota Vios, Toyota Yaris, Honda City and Honda Jazz, as well as the Nissan March and Almera.
In my point of view, the missing gauge may not be related to cost issues as it wouldn’t make a big price difference anyway.
What I think is that manufacturers reckon buyers of these cars are usually inexperienced drivers who drive their first car. So they would have little mechanical knowledge, and usually let the mechanics sort out any mechanical problems. So removing the water temperature gauge and leaving just the cold and hot warning lights is easier for them to understand.
If there was a temperature gauge, the inexperienced driver could become confused as to where should the needle be pointing. Without the gauge, they can just drive on peacefully and would take the car to the service immediately if the engine overheat warning lights up.
I consider these warning lights, which is offered instead of the usual water temperature gauge, an insult to the intelligence of the driver, but I must also accept that many drivers these days have no idea about what’s going on under the hood.
The same goes for other warning lights, including tyre pressure monitor (in some cases there are both audio and visual warnings). I think this is too luxurious a feature since we can all easily measure the tyre pressure ourselves.
But with this system, drivers would become more and more lazy, and they will not have to know how much pressure is needed for the tyres. They can just keep on driving safely until the warning lights up.
Regarding the automatic headlamp system, when used with xenon lamps, as the lifespan of the lamp is determined by the number of times it is fired, automatic systems may shorten the lifespan of the bulbs as the headlights are switched on and off more often.
For example when you are in a parking lot, the headlights may switch on automatically as it is darker. But if you approached a well-lit area, the headlamps will be shut off automatically.
With automatic windshield wipers, the system may be activated even if a small spray of water makes contact with the sensor. If most of the windshield is still dry, then there is a bigger possibility that the wiper blades could be torn when compared to a fully wet windshield.
So even though the larger number of warning lamps and gauges in modern automobiles may provide a higher level of comfort and convenience, the downside is that they cost more. You really need to understand what it does and if you are able to find the right settings, you can help increase the safety level and lower the maintenance cost of the vehicle as well.
