Ultimate Broken Machine

I called Kevin at the BMW dealer in Spokane to give him the code that the husband picked up with the code reader in case they needed to order a part for the car. When I gave him the code, he said, “Ohhhh, hold up—a recall on that part just came out.” He ran the VIN and sure enough, my car is included in the recall. I told the husband and the husband said, “But you had that part replaced already.” (Indeed, I did.) Here’s the kicker: the part is being recalled (again) because the “recall component was not produced with sufficient long-term durability characteristics,” according to documentation filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

As of yesterday, Kevin said, they don’t yet have a fix. He suggested I just drive around with the check engine light on until they do have one, at which point I can bring it in and they’ll do the recall work for free. We canceled the appointment I had made. The husband said that it’s nice that BMW will do recall work on a car with 111,000 miles on it and I responded that I thought it would be better if BMW stopped trying to cut corners and made parts that didn’t self-destruct before they were supposed to. (This makes two, the other one being the transfer case that failed, spectacularly, at 70,000 miles.)

“Ultimate Driving Machine,” my ass. It can’t be an ultimate anything if it doesn’t work.

At least the brake pad sensor issue has been fixed. I am still getting the drivetrain malfunction warning, but that’s related to the recall issue.

Between this car and all the car repair videos I watch with the husband, I know way more about cars than I really need to. Last night I learned how to change a brake line in a 2014 Dodge Caravan.

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I spent yesterday morning getting my T-shirt class stuff together. This has been a difficult class to organize, not because I don’t know how to teach it, but because what the store wanted—or thought they wanted—wasn’t what I thought lent itself well to a class, so there was a lot of back-and-forth about number of sessions and scheduling. The initial request was for a T-shirt class where every student could go home with a T-shirt that fit him or her. That would work if every student were the same shape and size. We compromised on a three-session class over three months. (I am discovering that stores like classes that run over a period of time, which keeps students coming back to the store, but requires some adjustment in how I plan my classes.) In the first session, which is tomorrow, we’re all going to trace, cut out, and assemble a kid’s T-shirt. Children basically have zero fitting issues, so we’ll be able to concentrate on the basics of making a garment with a serger.

The second and third classes are somewhat dependent upon what happens with this first class. I like to joke that “No class outline survives first contact with the students.” I hope that everyone will get a T-shirt made or at least well underway tomorrow, even if they have to finish it at home. We will then be able to focus on pattern drafting and fitting in the second and third classes.

Wish me luck. I’ll report back later in the week.

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I made several dozen makeup rounds yesterday which just need to have the serger tails secured and trimmed. I was cutting the rounds with the Accuquilt cutter, but I had to put the cutter away because the table that it sits on is the place where I sort and organize paperwork for tax season. Our construction company is a partnership, and partnership tax returns have to be filed by March 15. I like to have the information to our accountant by the end of January. Most of it is in Quickbooks and the reports are easy to pull, but I have to tease some things out of the mound of paperwork that I am too lazy to sort during the year because I hate filing.

So no more fabric cutting until taxes are done. I know how to motivate myself, trust me.

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The second tray of lettuce is planted. I am going to wash the totes I was using in the previous system and give them to Ali so she can try setting up a system at her house. We are all fond of salads here in the neighborhood.

Binding continues apace.

A few more car videos and this one should be done.