Sometimes you just need to scream!!!

[MA_PE]

RW what kind of car?

 

[roadwreck]

RW what kind of car?

a shitbox mazda

 

[roadwreck]

The good news is I managed to get the car started this morning so I didn't have to get it towed. Yesterday evening I noticed that when I have the key in the ignition and turn it to on, all the warning/info lights on the dash board light up before I actually crank the vehicle. If the security light is flashing quickly the car won't start. If the light blinks and then goes out the car will start. If the light was flashing I'd have to turn the key back to the off position and try again. Once I noticed this I could get the car to start probably once out of every 5 attempts. If I really needed to get it started I could disconnect the battery, hold the brake pedal down for 10 seconds (this apparently resets the electrical system) then reconnect the battery and the car you usually start right up that first time I reconnected the battery. This is not a process I want to have to go through every time I want to start the car. I'm wondering if I could get one of those hand cranks added to the front bumper like you see in the really old movies to start your vehicle. That would probably be less work then what I'm doing now.

Anyway, the good news is that my car started the first try this morning. I was able to drive it to the dealership. Of course I got there well before they opened and the gates on the entrance were still closedm so I had to shut the car off in their driveway. I figured at least if I stopped it here and couldn't get it started again they would have some incentive to get to my car today (since it was blocking their entrance). When the place did open I managed to get my car started on the second attempt. Then I parked it somewhere I thought would be out of the way (I didn't want to stop it in their service drive through in case it didn't start). But instead apparently I parked in front of their service car loaners, so again they have good reason to get to my car quickly today.

Lets hope that whatever is wrong with it can be fixed quickly and cheaply (yea right).

 

[MA_PE]

my experience is that there is NOTHING cheap at the Mazda dealership. I asked because if it was a GM there might be a work around for the "security chip". Don't know about the Mazdas.

On my 1998 Mazda the key was double cut so it didn't matter if it was "up" or "down". Of course duplicate/spare keys couldn't be made at the local key cutter you had to buy them from Mazda for $100. nice. Glad you didn't need the tow and I hope it's something simple.

 

[Guest]

Apparently my car has an "immobilizer",

Is that a feature that comes in the car that has to be 're-activated' periodically as a person is making payments on a vehicle?

I am asking because I saw something similar on a vehicle that was from your part of the world - Commando Girl had one of those things on her vehicle that would disable it if she didn't make a timely car payment.

I was thinking to myself ... Savages!!!

JR

 

[snickerd3]

SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Fat lot of good that feature does me. Apparently my car has an "immobilizer", which when working correctly means that the car communicates with a little microchip in my key and the car will only start when that key is being used to start the car. I always thought the the little red blinking light on the dashboard that represented the "alarm" was enabled on my vehicle was a bunch of hogwash, apparently it really does something. See I know this now b/c somehow the immobilizer on my vehicle is screwed. Meaning that even with the right keys the stupid car won't start. :\

And the only people that can fix it now is the dealership. So I have a brick of a car sitting in my driveway that now has to be towed to the dealership where they will ream me a new one on getting the stupid thing fixed.

My sister had that on her old car, an alero. She ended up just having to get a new key fob thing and get it reprogramed. Something Like $100 for key fob thing from the dealership, then it would have been another $150 or more for reprogrammed the dam thing, but she is an accountant for an autobody shop and the guys in the shop were able to reprogram it for her for either free or steeply discounted.

 

[Chucktown PE]

Is that a feature that comes in the car that has to be 're-activated' periodically as a person is making payments on a vehicle?
I am asking because I saw something similar on a vehicle that was from your part of the world - Commando Girl had one of those things on her vehicle that would disable it if she didn't make a timely car payment.

I was thinking to myself ... Savages!!!

JR

I have a buddy that owns a car dealership and their niche is selling cars to people with really bad credit. They put imobilizers in those cars as well as GPS tracking units. He actually got a $10,000 reward from the FBI because one of his "customers" was robbing banks and my buddy activated the GPS tracking unit and found the car was in a hotel in North Charleston. The FBI showed up 5 minutes later and arrested the guy.

:true:

 

[Capt Worley PE]

On my 1998 Mazda the key was double cut so it didn't matter if it was "up" or "down". Of course duplicate/spare keys couldn't be made at the local key cutter you had to buy them from Mazda for $100. nice. Glad you didn't need the tow and I hope it's something simple.

I've had double sided keys cut for years at the local hardware store. The problem is with the keys that are 'chipped.' Those cost 45 at the local Chevy dealer.

 

[MA_PE]

I've had double sided keys cut for years at the local hardware store. The problem is with the keys that are 'chipped.' Those cost 45 at the local Chevy dealer.

Cap'n I probably should have been more clear, the Mazda double cut keys aren't cut on the edges (like a Ford for example) the blank is straight and solid and the "cut" is "routed" out of the center of each side. Actually the dealer couldn't even cut one. He needed to send ti out and have it done. It took a week or so to get the new key.

 

[roadwreck]

Unfortunately this isn't some add on from a shady car dealership. And the car is paid for, so they aren't trying to get me for missed car payments. This is supposed to be a security feature that prevents the car from being stolen. The keys have a chip in them which wirelessly communicates with a receiver in the car. If the chip does communicate with the receiver the car won't start. Even more unfortunate is that the keys aren't the problem the receiver is, so I can't just get a new key reprogrammed. I have to get the receiver replaced then have my keys reprogrammed to the new receiver. This part isn't cheap and the dealership doesn't even have it in stock so they won't be able to repair my car today.

I guess I could take it somewhere to see if they could just have the stupid thing removed altogether (bypass the "immobilizer").

The good news is that one of the guys here in the office is friends with a service manager at that dealership. We were able to parlay some baseball tickets into a free loaner car. The tickets were free (to me) so I'm happy with the swap.

 

[Flyer_PE]

Ok, so the recirc pump for our koi pond died yesterday and I have three fish in the damn thing. We were supposed to fly out for a vacation this morning and I put it off a day to fix the pump. The only place within 40 miles of here that claimed to have the pump, didn't have it when I got there (45 minute drive one way). They had one that would fit, it only costs $500.00. They could get me a direct replacement for mine but it would take a week. So now, half my day is wasted, I don't have a replacement pump, and to top things off, the display on my cell phone crapped out on the way home. Next stop at&t to see about a replacement phone before we leave in the morning.

I do at least have an aerator in the pond so the fish shouldn't be floating when we get home.

RW,

Sorry to hear about the "feature" in your car. I keep swearing that my next "new" car will be something restored from the late 60's or early 70's. Technology is great until is strands you somewhere.

 

[snickerd3]

bummer flyer...at least you are on your own schedule with owning a plane. where are you guys headed?

 

[Flyer_PE]

We're headed for West Virginia to visit family and play tourist for a few days. I grew up there. Today was our buffer day for travel anyway and the weather should be better for traveling with the family anyway (fewer bumps to challenge Mrs. Flyer's motion sickness pills).

To continue the rant:

The guy at the at&t store tells me that my cheapest option to get an operational phone today is to buy a cheap phone from Walmart and put my SIM card in it. I have to go through the warranty system and have the phone manufacturer send me a new phone. My only other recourse with them is to buy an early upgrade at the contract renewal price plus $75.00. WTF good is a service contract if they can't/won't service a 6 month old phone?! I should be buying the Walmart throw-away phones for $30.00 a pop.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Cap'n I probably should have been more clear, the Mazda double cut keys aren't cut on the edges (like a Ford for example) the blank is straight and solid and the "cut" is "routed" out of the center of each side. Actually the dealer couldn't even cut one. He needed to send ti out and have it done. It took a week or so to get the new key.

Oh, I get it. I've never seen that before. I drove a Protege5 years ago and I think it was cut like a Ford key. is that a fairly new thing with mazda?

To continue the rant:The guy at the at&t store tells me that my cheapest option to get an operational phone today is to buy a cheap phone from Walmart and put my SIM card in it. I have to go through the warranty system and have the phone manufacturer send me a new phone. My only other recourse with them is to buy an early upgrade at the contract renewal price plus $75.00. WTF good is a service contract if they can't/won't service a 6 month old phone?! I should be buying the Walmart throw-away phones for $30.00 a pop.

Ever consider a TracFone? They have a deal on their site where you get a reconditioned Motorola flip/camera phone with lifetime double minutes and a 60 minute card for 20 bucks.

 

[Flyer_PE]

^As soon as this contract is up, I'm switching to something. My boss wants me to switch to Verizon and he'll pay for it. I've been resisting that so far since Verizon doesn't work in the part of WV I visit a couple of times each year. I think I'll just go ahead and switch and just suck it up for those two weeks when I'm out there.

 

[roadwreck]

Oh, I get it. I've never seen that before. I drove a Protege5 years ago and I think it was cut like a Ford key. is that a fairly new thing with mazda?

I think mazda only did this for a few years. I think the keys that MA is talking about are the "flip out" style key similar to what VW and Audi use. I know mazda used these for a few model years after my vehicle but they have gone back to a regular key since then. The loaner that I'm driving is an '09 and it has a standard key.

For my problem getting a new key cut wouldn't have helped anything. The keys are not the problem, it's the component on the car that is the problem. This renders every key I have useless. If the problem had been with the key I would have just stopped using that key, I have others. I guess I could have taken the car somewhere else to see if I could get the receiver on the car removed completely. That seems like it would have been cheaper to repair but it does remove a saftey feature on my car. It sounds like this is a fairly uncommon thing to fail. I searched online and only found a few instances of other people reporting the problem and in many cases it was the battery which was at fault not the antenna/receiver. I guess I was just one of the lucky few that got to deal with this headache. It's frustrating to know that mechanically there is nothing wrong with my car. The car should run, but a failure of this little safety device has rendered the vehicle inoperable. I'm just glad I managed to get it to the service department without having to pay for a tow as well.

 

[Supe]

The double cut keys are nice. My Saturn has them too (Opel design). They're vastly superior, being European and all.

That's the problem with your car, RW. It's not European.

 

[roadwreck]

That's the problem with your car, RW. It's not European.

Very good point. I should ditch this shitbox I have and buy something European. Got any suggestions? A smart car maybe?

 

[Supe]

Fiat 500!

 

[roadwreck]

That looks good. Since it's European it would never break down, but even if it did that thing looks small enough that I could probably Fred Flintstone the thing home.