2998 Maybe BMWs do come in lemon flavor

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The first testicular guard, the "cup", was used in hockey in 1874
and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it took only
100 years for hockey players to realize that their brain is also important.

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Well, Hal went in for service again this morning. Three problems:

• the "Service engine soon" message has been on steadily since Saturday,
• the remote button to open the trunk doesn't open the trunk, but sometimes sets off the alarm,
• the anti-theft system seems arbitrary and random.

So, with the speaker wire problem of a few weeks ago, that's four problems in six weeks.

I called Monday morning to make the appointment, and was told that if the car was acting ok, I could drive it with the service light on. So I did. (And yes, the gas cap was checked by a service station attendant on Sunday, and it was tight, so that's not it.)

The problem with opening the trunk has been around for a while. It worked fine three weeks ago, but then got intermittent, then wouldn't work at all, then last week started with the siren thing. When I told the intake woman about it she said, "Oh, it's probably in valet mode. When it's in valet mode, the remote won't open the trunk." So we went outside and checked and it wasn't in valet mode. So she tried the remote, and the trunk opened. Three times. So I tried it, and it opened, once. The second time it wouldn't open. The third time, the siren went off. She tried again, and it opened. But her second and third tries, it wouldn't open.

I'm glad she saw it in action (or inaction), or they might never have believed me.

The anti-theft thing is harder to demonstrate, because it's so arbitrary, but having demonstrated the trunk, maybe they'll be more likely to take my word for it.

I think my car hates me.

I got a call late this afternoon. They call after they've looked at it to give an estimate of how long they expect to have to keep it. She had no estimate. Uh, they are "in communication with the BMW engineers", and waiting to hear back from them.

Ack. That does not sound good.

They didn't have a loaner for me this time, so they rented a car for me. I asked that they make it a small one. Enterprise picked me up at the BMW garage, and when I asked if they had something small for me, the guy said yes, it's a Ford Edge, a small SUV. My eyebrows shot up. Isn't that kind of like saying "a small Clydesdale"?

The hood on that beast is higher than my shoulder. I have to climb up into it, onto my hands and knees on the seat, then turn to sit down. It's pretty nice driving, though. Smooth. It has the electric seats that I didn't get for Hal because if I'm the only regular driver, they'll mostly stay in one place once I find the optimal setting, so it didn't seem worth it, but they are really nice on a rental, that I have to fiddle with to get right.

Well, anyway, Hal is well named. I was afraid of that.
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