The information center in my 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo went dark. That's the thing in the dashboard that has the clock and tells you when something goes wrong with the vehicle like a light is out, windshield washer fluid needs refilling or cooling fluid is low, etc.
It has been out for a couple of months so I took it to a Jeep service place to see what they could do. The guy Dave at the service section said a mechanic will diagnose the problem for $130.
Here's what the information screen looks like.
Photo courtesy of ... duckduckgo.com images
Waited around for an hour looking at new Jeeps, They go for $40,000 plus tax. It would be nice to have a new one since the one I have is 21 years old. But it runs good just needs parts like the information center from time to time.
New Jeep at dealers
Dave gets back to me and says the mechanic found the problem. The Information Center is toasted and needs to be replaced. Cost would be around $500 because it would be a 3+ hour job. Removing the dashboard to install the dumb thing.
Notice the $130 on a post-it. Price must rise so often it doesn't pay to make it permanent.
Bad news is the Information Center part has been discontinued since my Jeep is so old. Good news is the Jeep will work perfectly fine without it. It is not part of the main computer.
I did get my money's worth though. The two guys at the service desk were a barrel of laughs. I would have had to pay as much if I went to a comedy club.
Dave
Dave without a head
I wouldn't have all this fun if I had a new Jeep that didn't need parts.