Tag Archives: cars

Car Maintenance Day

Jeanne had to skip class today because I had to have the car fixed. The accessory belt had been squeaking for weeks, and a few weeks ago, I noticed a leak in the power steering hose. Finally, this week, the air conditioning conked out. Probably another leak. So first thing in the morning, we dropped off Michelle at her office. Jeanne and I then went on to Fusion R to get the accessory belt and the power steering hose fixed.

Fusior R was still closed when we got there so we had to wait until it opened. Good thing Jeanne was sleeping for most of the time. After they opened and leaving the car with the mechanic, we went to the battery shop to talk to Eric. But he wasn’t there so we instead went to the mall to have wait out the repairs. We got there early and it was  still closed. So we stood around, bought breakfast (yogurt drink, hopia, and bread sticks) at a convenience store.

Once the mall opened, we windows shopped, visited the bookstore for a reading session, visited the toy store, and visited the bookstore again for another reading session. Finally, we had lunch (gyudon bowl). After lunch we went back to Fusion R to pick up the car.

But it’s wasn’t over yet. We went on to Frigid Zone to get the aircon fixed. I thought they had a problem figuring out where the leak was and after a while they showed me tiny bubbles coming out of a hose. I figured a leak is a leak so I asked them to proceed.

After the car got fixed we went to a nearby coffee shop to meet and finally talk to Eric. After an hour or two discussing plans, we headed home. Jeanne was very appreciative of the fixed aircon. She said “It’s good that we got it fixed, dad.” But alas, it wasn’t so. Gradually the cooling disappeared and soon it was just hot air coming out. But it was already late and the shop was already closed. So we just picked up Michelle and headed home.

UPDATE: Went back to Frigid Zone and they fixed another leak. And I bet that was the main/real leak.

Philips X-treme Vision Headlight Bulbs

Since I was on car repair mode, I decided to replace the Sentra’s headlight bulbs. They, actually just the low-beams, went bust over the last few weeks and I have been running around on fog lights. Or on high-beam where possible.

I was pretty impressed with the busted lights, Philips X-treme Power Headlight Bulbs, which had lasted almost four years so I decided to get them again. But the only one available at the shop were DiamondVisions. I pressed them and they offered to get X-treme Visions, apparently the replacement for X-treme Powers, from another branch. It took a long time in coming so I had to leave without new bulbs.

I was finally able to get them tonight after groceries. I tried to install them before leaving the mall but I wasn’t making any headway. I gave up and headed home where I gave it another go. This time, with the aid of an LED keychain light, I finally met success. Now I have not just 50%, not just 80% but 100% more light than stock bulbs! Night driving’s gonna be so much more fun!

 

 

Busted Evaporator

Brought the Sentra to Frigid Zone today. The aircon wasn’t running and I figured there’s a leak somewhere. The diagnosis: there’s indeed a leak and it’s in the evaporator. That’s the bad thing. The worse thing is that I had that same evaporator installed brand new from the same shop just over a year ago. I was naturally rather unhappy but it is past the warranty period (6 months). At least I was able to get a small discount, a longer warranty (1 year), and an assurance, unverifiable until next year, that the new evaporator is of a better make.

H is for Hubris

Saw a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe on the expressway yesterday. It looks great except the pricing sucks. It’s priced at P1,768,000 for the 2WD version and P2,228,000. for the 4WD version. That’s way higher than the quite capable pickup-based SUVs (Mitsubishi Montero Sport, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, and the new Chervrolet Trailblazer) and already heading towards the Mazda CX-9, Ford Explorer, and Honda Pilot territory. Sure there is a void in that price range and there will still be buyers at those prices but I don’t think it will be the same as the levels that propelled Hyundai to great success the past few years. Yeah, I’m bitter.