The Problem-Solving Attitude That the Engine Warning Light Taught Me

I went to get my Carnival repaired.

There was a Carnival recall on August 24th, and I had the recall work and an oil change done at the AutoQ shop I always go to.

A few days later, a yellow engine warning light came on the dashboard.

AutoQ couldn't take me for another two weeks, so in a hurry I found a repair shop on Michael that could see me the same day and booked an appointment for inspection.

They checked the error code with a scanner and told me that fixing it would take a lot of time and money.

Since not having a car would make getting around inconvenient right away, I couldn't confirm exactly what the cause was, but they said it should be fine to keep driving for now.

As soon as I got home, I immediately booked the earliest available appointment at AutoQ.

While booking, I worried about how much the repair would cost and how long it would take, and I drove carefully until the appointment day.

Driving around with the engine warning light on made me lose affection for the car, and I even started to dislike it.

And this despite all the happy times my family and I had had going here and there in that car.

On the day of the AutoQ appointment, I set off fully prepared.

Since the previous shop had said I'd need to leave the car and come back, I allowed plenty of time and even planned to take public transportation back.

Thinking it might take a long time to find the cause, I even brought my laptop, planning to work in the customer lounge.

When I arrived at AutoQ, I told them I had an appointment, checked in at the kiosk, and sat down and opened my laptop to pass the time.

Before even five minutes had passed with my laptop open, a mechanic came over and said to me, "It's done!"

Thinking he must have mistaken me for someone else, I replied, "I'm the owner of the Carnival, and I just got here!"

I expected the mechanic to then go find the right customer, but I got an unexpected answer.

"Yes, the Carnival. Your car is done, sir!" Flustered, I closed my laptop, and he gave me an additional explanation.

"Last time, during the recall repair, one connector wasn't properly fastened. We fastened it properly and that fixed it!"

What kind of absurd story is this? I stood up, thinking it over for a moment.

"Thank you. So, can I just go now?" I asked, and got into the car that had been pulled out of the service bay for me.

I had expected it to take a long time and cost a lot, so I was relieved it was resolved in such a short time, and for free.

On the drive home, two thoughts occurred to me.

First, why did the neighborhood repair shop I went to for inspection say it would take a lot of time and money?

Second, was it right for me to just say thank you and leave right away?

As for the first, I concluded that the neighborhood shop has now lost my trust. (I won't be going there again.)

As for the second, I've seen this kind of situation a lot on social media, under the label of so-called "entitled customers."

People making claims like, "AutoQ, you made me waste my precious time because of your fault, so compensate me!"

Even though it's already over, I thought about what the right thing to do would have been, and here's the conclusion I came to.

This comes down to how you look at a problem — that is, a difference in perspective toward the problem.

Focusing on your own rights, on the time that was taken from you, and wanting compensation is treating the cause of the problem as the top priority.

The cause of the problem — in this case, the mechanic — is why I went through all that trouble, worry, and stress.

The thinking goes: you, who caused this, should take responsibility, and it's only fair that I receive compensation accordingly.

In this case, the problem shifts from the car's warning light to "myself."

The cause of my stress becomes you, and the way to resolve my stress is to demand compensation.

In this incident, my attitude was focused solely on solving the problem.

My problem was that annoying yellow engine warning light, and by whatever means, getting rid of that light would mean the problem was solved — and that's what happened.

I went to AutoQ, the problem got solved, so I was satisfied, said thank you, and that was the end of it.

My worry and stress about the car were resolved, and my affection for the car came back too.

In this way, differences in attitude toward problems, and problems getting distorted because of that, are what cause conflicts in society.

Across many kinds of conflicts, we often see problems arising from how people view the issue, disagreements over how to solve it, and the issue itself becoming distorted, all of which deepen the conflict.

I'm not saying it's wrong to identify the cause of a problem, hold someone accountable, and seek compensation.

Of course, if a cause could have been avoided, it should be eliminated, and whoever is responsible should take responsibility and provide compensation.

But more than that, for me, solving the problem is the top priority.

This one Carnival repair incident could just be brushed off as a passing happenstance,

but I'm grateful that this opportunity made me reflect and filled something inside me.

Going forward, if things like this come my way again, I want to treat even the small things as food for thought and turn them into nourishment that fills me up.

2026. Wed, Sep 16

Written by codinglee.