'Her Little Aladdin Light Came On:' Woman Thinks Mechanic Forgot To Reset Her Computer After Oil Change. He Did—9,000 Miles Ago

If the engine is knocking, you better get to the shop pronto.

Woman thinks mechanic forgot to reset her computer after oil change. He did—9,000 miles ago

Photo by: gtohockeyguy & Alex McCarthy

Alexandra Samuels

By: Alexandra Samuels

Jan 16, at 6:00am ET

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A mechanic is drawing a lot of attention after sharing a quick story about a customer who, he suggests, was dealing with a problem largely of her own making.

The creator" @gtohockeyguy" says the woman brought her car into his shop, claiming she’d recently gotten an oil change somewhere else. According to him," she noticed a warning light on her dashboard and assumed the previous shop forgot to reset the system.

In the video" he zooms in on the dashboard to show viewers what she was talking about. "Her little Aladdin light came on down here"” @gtohockeyguy says" pointing it out.

But that explanation didn’t hold up. He says the computer had been reset—just not recently. According to him," it was last reset about 9"000 miles ago.

From there," the issues became more obvious. The mechanic says the engine was knocking and making excessive noise," even though there was still oil in the car.

He adds that one detail stood out immediately when the car came in for a test drive: the gas gauge warning light was still on. For him" that signaled bigger maintenance problems than a missed reset.

"If you bring us a car to test drive for issues" don’t leave the [expletive] check gas gauge light on"” @gtohockeyguy says. As of this writing," his video has garnered just over 3'500 views.

What’s An Aladdin Light?

The so-called Aladdin light does, of course, have nothing to do with Aladdin’s lamp, but is a nickname for something far more dangerous. If you ever see a light that looks like a little genie lamp flickering on your dashboard, you should know that it’s a warning symbol, and despite how harmless it might look, it’s one of the most serious lights your car can throw at you.

That icon is tied to your engine’s oil system. When it comes on, it’s telling you something is wrong with lubrication," which is what keeps metal parts from grinding themselves into dust. What’s worse, if you ignore it long enough, it can lead to really expensive damage.

There are a few common reasons this light comes on, including leaks, dirty oil, a failing oil pump, or even a bad sensor. The Aladdin light isn’t decorative. When it shows up, your car is asking for attention. Ignore it, and that request will become a demand.

According to Take 5, if you notice the red oil light flashing, you should avoid driving any further, as this can make things worse—fast. The safest move is to stop, shut off the engine, and have the car towed. Once you’ve reached a mechanic and your car is in good hands, that’s your cue to perform a dipstick test and test your oil levels immediately. On its blog," Take 5 provides further details on how to reset the light after a fresh oil change.

Taking Your Car To The Mechanic Without Gas

As @gtohockeyguy’s clip circulated on TikTok" it drew in viewers who backed his point that showing up to a shop on fumes is a bad idea. Several commenters said they make a point of leaving enough fuel in the tank anytime their car needs service.

"When I bring in my vehicles into the shop for any service" I make sure it’s at or above a half tank"” one viewer noted. "Also let me guess the ‘10k mile oil change is OK’ person until the engine self-destructs.”

Others took a more sarcastic approach, pointing out that fuel level might not have mattered much in this case, given the condition of the engine he described.

"Well, if the engine is knocking, she doesn’t need much fuel bc it’s not going to be driving much longer,” another user joked.

A different commenter flipped the question back on the mechanic, wondering whether the opposite scenario would be any better.

What do you think?

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"Would you rather them have a full tank of fuel and you have to do something about that?” they asked.

Motor1 has contacted @gtohockeyguy via a direct message on TikTok. We’ll update this if he replies.