I get off work around 1130pm. I got home a bit past midnite. The wife is in the garage waiting for me. She was upset to the max. She says she came into the garage to get something, and before she turned on the light she saw a red blinking light coming from her Prius. She said it looks like a red blinking car. I saw it too and didnt know what it was. she checked the doors-nope. I askd about the spare key. Its in the kitchen. what is it? I never noticed it before. I went and looked at my car from the back. It was blinking too! I never noticed it before. what the heck is it?????
Not to worry: It was the symbol that meant your wife was close to the car with the SKKS transmitter in her pocket or purse. Look carefully at the symbol, and you'll see that it's a car with a key overlayed on it. --Joe
It's the immobilizer light. It shows that the engine immobilizer is operating, protecting your car from theft. This is what it should be doing. If you didn't get a manual with your new car, you should ask the dealer for one. Tom
This is incorrect. It flashes any time the immobilizer is operational, with or without a nearby SKS fob. Tom
Are you talking about a red car symbol with a 'key' inside it? That's the security (or theft-deterrent) light I suppose, try to look it up from the owner's manual too. Why freak out though? A lot of cars have such blinking light these days, some are in orange but mostly in red.
damn. Thanks Qbee. We both have a manual but have not read it yet. I wasnt so updet but she thought the car was broken! LOl I will tell her so she feels better. She was afraid the light would kill the battery. Thanks again!!
Alot of cars have a red light that flashes from inside, usually originating from the area near the car stereo. In fact I have even seen in some car stereo shops a fake flashing red LED so that it deters theives into thinking you have a high end security system.
Since when does a woman even let us know that there is a red or warning light of any kind flashing on the dash???
Thanks for the correction, Tom. (I actually did read my manual cover-to-cover, but that was back in November. Guess I didn't memorize it completely. Luckily there wasn't a quiz.) Well, I always thought it meant that I had my key fob nearby. Anyway, it's nice to know that my car is protected. And your wife needn't get frantic about it. --Joe
What does " car was blinking from the back mean"? The back lights were flashing or you could see the same symbol on the dash through the back window. I hope you meant the back lights were flashing.
This would make a good license plate holder or bumper sticker. Of course, I think Dick Cheney probably hates everything. :evil:
admittedly not the most concise writing. but nobody else had a problem with the description. It meant that looking thru the back window in a dark garage she could see a red light blinking from the dash. I am glad it wasnt a problem. I never noticed my car after turning it off so didnt know either.
A lot of cars use a flashing light. Supposedly it helps scare off would be car thieves. That's why it flashes even without your fob nearby. Tom
My brother used to have a pickup that had one of those lights, but it was really big and was on the bottom of the rear-view mirror. When he first got the truck I asked him what that light was for, and he said I should ask his daughter (who was about 4 at the time.) Her answer was: "it's the clown nose."
When I picked up my Prius, and the salesman was showing me all the features, that light was the first thing I noticed and asked about. At first, it bothered me. That was until I had my 12v battery die one day. The car was really dead, and even the red blinking car light was gone. Now, I can just look for the blinking red car and know my car is alive. That is its little heartbeat while it is sleeping.
Macs (Apple Macintosh) have had this for a long time. When the computer is asleep, there is a light that pulses on and off. But it doesn't abruptly turn on and off; it ramps up and down, kinda like the computer is breathing. On my older Power Mac, it is the On/Off button, on my two laptops it is the button that releases the lid.
Another demonstration that people can be terrible observers, even in low stress situations. No one should ever be convicted of a crime solely on the basis of eyewitness testimony by strangers.
