The Complaining and Bitching Thread

The car alarm/electronic door lock in our Corolla decided to work only when it wanted to. For some reason my remote went on the fritz (new battery didn't help), but my wife's worked. She would lock/alarm the car with her remote, but I couldn't turn it off with my remote. I used to go nuts trying to figure out why the damn alarm kept going off when I used the key and I couldn't get the car to start.

One day we were both home and she used her remote to get something out of the car and then lock it. I tried to go somewhere and the alarm wouldn't turn off & the car wouldn't start. It finally dawned on me (duh, me) that the remote needed to be used both ways, or not used at all. I was explaining this to an employee at a Toyota dealership, and she said they would sometimes have the same problem. That made me feel less stupid.

 

I had a rental car once which would alarm if you inserted the key to unlock the door. Rather, it wanted you to use a button on the key to unlock the car remotely.

The key itself was entirely electronic, with no sign of the traditional locksmith's art.

 

Our Corolla is a 2004. It uses two remotes, or two keys that unlock the car and can be used to unlock & open the trunk. It also came with a valet key that will unlock & start the car, but won't unlock the trunk (kind of stupid since you can unlatch the trunk once you're in the car). If the car is locked/alarmed using a remote, you have to use a remote (just the key won't do it) to properly disarm the alarm so that the car will start. Which is why my wife's remote is now residing in a desk drawer.

I really should just buy a new remote from a dealership, but I'm not sure if the locks/alarms system is working properly even with both remotes functioning. If the entire system in the car is wonky, I don't really want to pay to replace it.

 

In regards to the valet key and the interior trunk release, there should be a key cylinder next to the trunk release. You lock that with the main key, the valet key will not operate that. Same thing with the glove box lock.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll take a look. We inherited the car (kind of) and I don't really know it that well. What I really need to do is get another functioning remote in order to set the alarm, esp. given where we live.

 

My zero-options 2003 PT Cruiser doesn't even have power locks, let alone electronic keys.

 

heh, my ex wife brought home a pt cruiser as a rental for a crash we had been in. she said that she liked the car, not bad for a rental. I sat down in it and immediately noticed the seats were horrible. I mean uncomfortable, lousy padding, and completely flat with no support. The car has other virtues; it's cheap, has good space in the hatch, but I could never envision driving it. But that's just my opinion.

 

I am tall and have an especially long torso. The PT is a very rare case of a car that has plenty of headroom for me. I really like not having my head jammed against the ceiling. It is so wonderful to actually have space above my head.

I also like the way it looks.

 

So don't get an old Acura Integra. I have had mine since 1999. I am only 5'9" but I have a really long torso and my head almost touches the roof. My 2002 WRX does much better, with several inches of clearance. And I definitely see head clearance as a safety issue in crashes. There used to be a lady here, who's screen name escapes me, that loved her supercharged pt cruiser. She used to take it drag racing.

 

So the life-altering snow storm that hit us last night only left about 1 inch on my driveway. However, in a heroic effort to compensate for my good fortune, my body informed me this morning that I'm coming down with a bug of some sort.

Way to go, little buddy. I knew you wouldn't let me down....

 

ONE INCH OF SNOW!! This makes thinking @DamnitAll and laugh hysterically.

There's sheer terror erupting tonight over the predicted 1/10" ice on the roads in the morning.

 

I remember back in Germantown md we had fifteen or twenty minutes of freezing rain in the morning as kids were going to school. Amounted to a 1/64th inch of ice. A schoolgirl was killed trying to cross the street. Everything was melted an hour later. I have also felt my patrol car slip on the ice that condensed from river fog in a canyon. As I was heading to a crash a few miles away where he crashed for that reason. Rolled his suv 2.5 times. Had a seatbelt on but still almost severed his ear as his suv rolled over the guardrail. So I'd be wary of any ice.

 

As a scientist who's spent his entire career dealing with human health, I never cease to be amazed at the capacity of a tiny microbe for making a person feel absolutely shitty.

Btw, I'm planning to use that as the opening line in my acceptance speech if and when the Nobel Committee gives me an award.

Just thought I'd try it out here first.


You're welcome.

 

Yeah, I stayed home. And cooked.
This damn hand is going to be the death of me.
Never chop jalapeños with a semi-open wound. Just FYI.

 

Oh shit! Please tell me you didn't really do that....

Capsaicin is nasty shit.

They have these wonderful things called gloves.....