What does it mean when a car's IC is disabled?

[McSophie]

etc tag disabled means the car's etc has been blacklisted. The etc tag may be disabled because it has been blacklisted by the etc system due to reasons such as unpaid fees. The car owner can bring their original ID card, original vehicle registration certificate, and etc card to the issuing bank's etc service outlet, and follow the staff's instructions to complete the etc blacklist removal procedure. Relevant information about the turbocharger is as follows: Introduction: A turbocharger is essentially an air compressor that increases the intake air volume by compressing air. Working principle: It uses the inertial impulse of the exhaust gas discharged by the engine to drive the turbine in the turbine chamber, which in turn drives the coaxial impeller. The impeller compresses the air delivered through the air filter pipe, pressurizing it into the cylinder. When the engine speed increases, the exhaust gas discharge speed and turbine speed also increase synchronously, allowing the impeller to compress more air into the cylinder. The increased air pressure and density enable the combustion of more fuel, and by correspondingly increasing the fuel quantity and adjusting the engine speed, the engine's output power can be increased.

[SanCatherine]

I've been repairing cars for over a decade and have encountered many car owners asking about IC failures in vehicles. These ICs refer to those densely packed small chips in cars, such as those controlling the engine's ignition system or managing the power windows. The so-called failure means these chips stop functioning. The most common symptoms are the engine warning light coming on, the accelerator feeling sluggish with no power, or windows malfunctioning. Recently, a guy's car had its main control chip burn out from overheating, causing the onboard computer to completely shut down. In such cases, don't push your luck—towing it to a shop to read the fault codes is the most practical solution. These chips are quite delicate; water exposure or unstable voltage can make them act up, so it's best not to tinker with the wiring yourself.

[Legolas]

From a car enthusiast's perspective, let me explain this IC disabling issue you mentioned. Nowadays, many vehicle chip sets control the entire car just like computer CPUs. The other day when I was modifying my own car, I accidentally locked the ECU chip while flashing the program, which resulted in the anti-theft system completely locking the engine. Later, I had to pay 500 yuan to have a specialist unlock it to get it working again. If you see warning icons popping up on the dashboard or the central control screen going black and freezing, there's a good chance some control chip has been disabled. It's somewhat similar to restoring a phone to factory settings—the chip enters a protection mode. A word of advice: take it easy when modifying your car, and remember to disconnect the power before working on the wiring.

[JosephMarie]

Speaking of car IC failures, last time I washed my car, I spilled perfume in the glove box, and the next day I ran into trouble. The dashboard kept flashing an ECO fault warning. After a long inspection at the 4S shop, they found that the chip controlling the energy-saving system had short-circuited and gone into self-protection mode. The mechanic said the electronic modules in cars nowadays are denser than circuit diagrams—even a tiny raindrop could disable the window control chip. He taught me three key precautions: avoid placing liquids in the cabin, steer clear of electronic modules when washing the car, and never use a high-pressure washer on the engine bay. Repairs for these things are expensive—mine cost over 2,000 yuan that time.