Why didn’t we do this sooner?

“Keeping up with the Joneses” has never been important to us. We may not have the latest and greatest gizmo or doodad and we’re okay with that. (As former IT people, we will never use Alexa or Google voice-activated devices.) When we do get some sort of new-to-us bells and whistles we’re a bit like kids with a new toy.

When we purchased Ruby, The Big Red Truck, we were excited to have a back-up/rear view camera and heated seats. (I thought heated seats were stupid until I actually tried them.) I particularly love having lane assist; Kenn hates the lane assist because it beeps at him all the time. (He tends to “wander” while he drives.) Daisy, our Subaru Outback, added a heated steering wheel, heated side-view mirrors, heated and cooling seats, and push-button start.

No longer needing a key to drive was a game changer – and not always in a positive way. Leaving home wasn’t a problem – lock the front door, drop my keys in my purse, and go about my day. Returning home never went as smoothly. Push the button to turn off Daisy, lock the car, and head to the house – usually with my hands/arms full – only to realize that I needed my keys, which were still in my purse. Getting my keys out entailed juggling whatever I was carrying while getting my purse open and digging my keys out. It didn’t help that I am one of those people who insists on carrying everything in one trip.

Our son and daughter-in-law installed an electronic combination lock on their house and it made a world of difference when we were helping them move. We didn’t need a physical key and if they weren’t home, we didn’t need to wait on them, we could just use the combination to get in. I decided we needed to make the switch as well. But, Kenn doesn’t adjust to change as easily as I do so I have to open a topic of discussion, such as switching locks, and give him time to think on it for a while. (Or to decide it was his idea.🙄) The idea grew on Kenn and we did our research and decided on a Kwikset brand lock. We’ve used Kwikset door knobs and keyed locks for years and didn’t see any need to change from a good thing.

I love this thing!

The change has been wonderful! We can create different combinations for different people and the app lets us know who is unlocking/locking the door. I’m thrilled that I no longer have to leave a physical key outside for the pet-sitter when we travel. We also have the added capability of locking/unlocking the door via the Kwikset app. We should have done this ages ago!

Do you use keyed locks or electronic one? Do you carry everything in one trip?

Recall Limbo

Much like home ownership, vehicle ownership comes with its share of routine maintenance and periodic not-so-routine maintenance. Unlike home ownership, vehicle ownership also comes with occasional recalls. Recall issues can range from wow-we-need-to-fix-this-yesterday to meh-why-bother. (We never did take our Toyota Highlander in to have the carpet clips replaced.) Ruby, our 2018 Toyota Tundra, has introduced us to a new “category” of recall – they type that sends you into a rather nonsensical limbo.

Over the past couple of months, we’ve received three or four notices that we we need to call and schedule a recall service on our Tundra. However, the notice provides no information a to what the recall is for. Since Kenn now uses the Tundra as his primary vehicle, I nudged him into calling the dealership to find out more about the recall and scheduling the service. This is where the “fun” began.

Kenn called the dealership and gave them the Tundra’s VIN number. After an extended delay, the service manager said that their system couldn’t locate that VIN. Kenn pointed out that some Toyota database somewhere recognizes the VIN since we keep getting the recall notices. The service manager promised to keep researching the issue and would let us know what she found. True to her word, the service manager called a few days later to report that she had learned that the VIN number is Canadian. Who knew that our truck is an immigrant?

Image from depositphotos.com

Now that we know our truck originated in Canada, we can get it scheduled for the recall service, right? Wrong. Another day, another call. The service manager has learned that there is an outstanding recall associated with our vehicle. So, did she finally locate our vehicle in their system? No. The service manager found the information about the recall by searching for the VIN on CARFAX.🤦‍♀️ Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up.

At some point, Kenn was able to learn that the recall has something to do with the halogen headlights, but we still haven’t been able to schedule anything with the dealership and are once again waiting on another call. At this point, Kenn is going to see if he can schedule the service via Toyota’s national website.

As a former IT person, I’m baffled as to how a service manager at a local Toyota dealership can’t log into some sort of over-arching Toyota database and see any/all information on any Toyota vehicle. I’m beginning to hum the Jeopardy theme any time this topic comes up.

Wish us luck as we attempt to navigate the most convoluted recall process ever. At this rate, it might be easier to agree on what color we want to paint our shutters and deck. Then again, maybe not. Maybe that will be the topic for my next post…