An early start this morning, to drop Alicia off at her mums and go to the dentist. It's Jamie's turn with the cold bug that has jumped from Jan to Alicia, and has now left him with a raging sore throat, so he's coming with me as well.
As I started the car the tyre pressure warning lights started flashing on all four tyres. That's odd, I thought, although the warning light switched off after a minute or so. Must check them when I get back.
The dentist only took a couple of minutes, although I've got to go back for a filling at the end of August - first one in four or five years I think. "Ring me if the pain becomes unbearable and we'll do it sooner if necessary" says the dentist. Hmmm, it's just a twinge if I bit on it too hard at the moment, so I'll live with it.
The warning light starts flashing again. Ok, I get the message, I'll check the tyres when I get home.
Except I can't. I had four replacement tyres a couple of months ago, and the metal valve caps have been screwed on so tightly that I can't get them off by hand. I get a small spanner, and the first one comes off ok. Tyre pressure is ok, so go to the next one.
Crack. Oh shit. The valve cap has completely stuck and in trying to loosen it the body of the valve has cracked and the tyre deflated in about twenty seconds flat (ho, ho - do you see what I did there?)
The remaining two tyres are the same, although the valves are still intact on those I get the feeling that they will deflate if I look at them in a funny way.
Call the leasing company.
"You need to call the RAC"
Call the RAC.
"Your car is under warranty - it's the AA that you need for that"
Call the AA.
"We'll send somebody out, although you need to call the tyre company"
Call the tyre company.
"It needs dealer fitted tyre pressure sensors"
Call the leasing company.
"We'll call the dealer and see what they can do"
The leasing company call back and tell me to call the dealer.
"We haven't got the parts in stock, but we might be able to get them for you. Can you call back later?"
Fine, just what I need today.
Taurus, Interstate 76 poetry:
"It's a high pitched sound
Hot rubber eternally pressing against a blackened pavement
A wheel is forever
A car is infinity times four"
Monday, July 12, 2004
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1 comment:
This is where forgetting your dignity, to mutter distractedly "I dunno, something wrong with the tyres I think. No idea, no. Flashing lights on the dashboard - can you come out"
Works far better - once there's a bloke under your hood, they tend to sort out the details themselves!
Vanessa
http://angelfire.com/blog/sarsparilla/blog/
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