Final Gear Top Tip

Did something damage the key or did it get locked in? My car will refuse to lock if the key is inside...
But what if you are attacked by your swedish ex-Model wife with a golf-club and try to be safe inside your car? If you can?t lock the car with the key inside ... she?s gonna kill you for all the affairs you had ... that?s not a saftey feature!
 
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Do not upset her - problem solved. On a side issue being Swedish you would think that she would be relaxed about her partner ge doing some "field" research, now would you not?
 
But what if you are attacked by your swedish ex-Model wife with a golf-club and try to be safe inside your car? If you can?t lock the car with the key inside ... she?s gonna kill you for all the affairs you had ... that?s not a saftey feature!

Times I have locked my key in the car: 2

Times I have been attacked by my Swedish ex-model wife with a golf club while in my car: 0
 
Did something damage the key or did it get locked in? My car will refuse to lock if the key is inside...

... as long as you don't put a laptop on it.

When I unlocked the car with the backup key, I tested the original one, and it was working fine. I figure, the shielding and wiring in the laptop must have disturbed the key's signal and had the car think that the key had left.
I can also safely say that it wasn't a prank, since the backup keys are stored in a room which was locked down at the time I arrived and none of the colleagues who were still present had access to it. I also haven't seen my awestruck face on tv or youtube, so far. ;)
 
I will have to be careful of that then. Though since the last incident I have been carrying a spare key in my wallet... I have no idea why I didn't think of that earlier, generic "copied" keys are actually quite thin.
 
If you intend to use jackstands on an asphalt surface, do so at your own risk. They will dig into the surface and you will start panicking. Alternately, put a piece of plywood underneath it first.
 
Asphalt will become liquid if left out in the Texas sun for too long. When walking, avoid the lines of tar as they are now molten and will stick to your feet/shoes.
 
If you get a sun-roof anti-foul error message in a current model BMW do not return your car to the dealer for correction (they will keep it for 3 days and reflash the cars software - this is unnecessary).
The problem will be fixed by simply depressing the sun-roof tilt button and holding it until the roof has opened fully and then closed fully (this may take about 15 to 20 seconds).
 
If you're cooking any kind of sauce/caserole etc that requires garlic, do not add it when the recipe says so, but instead wait until serving. Let it come off the boil and then crush in your garlic. Not only do you get better, fresher flavour but you also don't suffer from garlic breath/pores in the morning. Same applies to fresh basil in Italian cooking - add the chopped stalks to the mixture as it cooks, but throw the finely chopped leaves in at the end.
 
If you're still on your original shocks after 90k miles (depending on your OEM, this may vary), your car will become annoying to drive.

Can verify this. They also make some very interesting noises.....

If your car is on it's original clutch after that long too (well, more like 175 000 kms), it will become near impossible to stall because the damn thing is so worn out. Good time to teach the resident manual-phobe in your family to drive the car!!!!
 
only problem with that is when they drive a car with a good clutch, it might take some getting used to
 
Never remove the top nut of a McPherson strut with the spring uncompressed and the suspension unloaded. Loud bangs will happen and you will have to undo a lot of bolts and previous work to get it back out again.
 
only problem with that is when they drive a car with a good clutch, it might take some getting used to

Yeah, daresay I will have issue with this when I get a new car! :lol:
 
^ I may also suffer from that. The Kangoo is still on its original gearbox and clutch too, and has done we estimate around 85k miles or so. Hard to tell as the mileometer LCD screen broke :p, and it was the only car for 3 years or so until recently. Its got quite a heavy clutch, but I have no idea how much of that is to do with the fact its a van and how much is to do with age. :)
 
If you intend to use jackstands on an asphalt surface, do so at your own risk. They will dig into the surface and you will start panicking. Alternately, put a piece of plywood underneath it first.

My friend has an asphalt driveway and she has had her Dart up on jackstands for the last 3 months. Needless to say, the jackstands have sunk in to about halfway down the stand. It's pretty funny.

The car is still perfectly level though!
 
There is a tool called a tensioner pulley wrench. Don't use it, it sucks. A breaker bar with the properly sized socket works much better.
 
Can verify this. They also make some very interesting noises.....

If your car is on it's original clutch after that long too (well, more like 175 000 kms), it will become near impossible to stall because the damn thing is so worn out. Good time to teach the resident manual-phobe in your family to drive the car!!!!
My clutch and gearbox have run 264 000 km, and it works fine. Its worn but there is no problem with it.
 
If you live in a place where it's cold and they salt the roads, buying a car in a warmer area is a good idea. However, remember that the windshield washer fluid in the car is not likely to contain antifreeze. You will end up spraying frost onto your windshield and not be able to go anywhere until the heater warms up the glass. Bonus points if you discover this while in traffic.
 
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