Owners of new cars are accustomed to making visits to their dealerships when routine maintenance is needed. But "routine" isn't what it used to be.

After about a month, just as I was gaining confidence in my ability to know what I'm doing behind the wheel, a message popped up on my car's speedometer display: "Check engine. Visit your dealer."

This sounded more ominous than the illumination of a low tire-pressure signal. While on the way to a Pilates class at my fitness center, I instead zoomed into a parking lot and consulted my (extremely detailed) owner's manual. It listed a dizzying array of reasons for the message, the most common being not properly replacing the gas cap.

There was no way to know what my specific problem was. So, despite having about a zillion must-dos on my schedule that day, I headed to the dealership, arriving about 7:15 a.m.

After breathlessly explaining my car's warning, the agent behind the service desk asked me warily, "Do you have an appointment?"

Uh, no. The warning had popped up about 10 minutes earlier and--silly me!--the idea of calling to arrange a convenient time for a mysterious electronic message to appear hadn't crossed my mind.

"What does the alert mean?" I asked.

"We don't know," he replied, with a........

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