A few months ago, we went down to Orlando for a few days. We left after work, and by the time we were well south of Atlanta, it was getting dark enough to turn on the Element's headlights. When I did, all the lighting on the instrument panel went out.
Couldn't see the speedometer or how much gas I had. Couldn't see the trip odometer so that I could guesstimate how much gas I had. I couldn't even see what station the radio was set to. As my dad would have said, "dark as the inside of a black cow." Luckily, I did have Gail Garmin on the dash, and she could tell me how fast I was driving.
When we got to the showsite, I was very happy to see that there was a Honda dealership just down the road. Sarah (of Hurrikane Cardis) followed me over to the dealership when I went to drop it off. I called back a few hours later and they said, ummmmmm, your car is fine. Everything is working just as it should.
Sure enough, when I went back later, we took the car to a dark bay, and sure enough, everything worked fine. They looked at me like I was some kind of crazy woman and let me go on my way. Everything has worked just fine since then. Until last Saturday.
We are getting ready to head up to the Chesapeake Specialty this weekend in Maryland. Saturday evening we were out enjoying the perfect fall evening, and when it started to get dark, I turned on the headlights and guess what - instrument panel goes black.
I think my Element is just lazy and doesn't want to make another long trip. Maybe it's just a homebody.
So we go to our local Honda dealer, and this time I made sure the service people saw it misbehaving before I left. They were befuddled. All day long they were befuddled. Finally late this afternoon, they found some techie guru who told them to grab some part and twist it thataway, and sure enough, it showed them where the problem was or something - anyway, I need some part and they hope it comes in time to get it installed before I leave Thursday for Maryland. The good news is that this happened just 6000 miles before my extended warranty runs out and is covered.
When I left the dealership, the panel was dark. I made a stop on the way home, and when I got back in the car, everything worked perfectly. Crazy car.
2 comments:
ah, I remember that, crazy Element!!! Glad they finally found the problem, though. Perhaps the Element thinks you should only show dogs within a 200 mile radius of home?
Whew!! It happened under warranty. You must lead a charmed life. Anything of mine would have died the day after warranty ran out.
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