I had a little adventure with my car. On the way home last night, my car signaled me with an audible tone and an illuminated warning light on my dashboard that I had a flat tire. That may seem a bit strange but my Mini Cooper S uses run-flat tires which stay partially inflated as the tire itself is sectioned so that one can drive for a while even though the tire has technically gone flat. Luckily for me I was only about a mile from home so I carefully navigated my way there trying not to make any sudden stops or quick accelerations.
This morning I got a hold of the Columbus Mini dealership and their service department was wonderful. We’ve had the Mini serviced there before and the experience has always been excellent. I wish I could say the same for the Cincinnati dealership. Anyhow, the man we spoke to informed us that along with the cold air lowering the air pressure in the tires, the tires normally lose 1-2 pounds of pressure every month. I did not know this.
So, after getting proper air pressure into my tires and resetting my warning system, all is well again. StarBug, as we lovingly call my car, is back in fine form and I’ve learned the importance of checking my tires once a month. Again, it’s advice that I’ve heard many many times but have never heeded. The irony is that years back I bought Randy and me surplus military artillery cans and filled each of them with tools (including a tire gauge) for our cars.
This is like the time when I gave my parents a carbon monoxide detector for Christmas and later that year it turned out that Randy and I had been slowly suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning for 18 months from our own faulty furnace! The utility representative red-tagged our furnace that day and told us we were lucky the house was so old and drafty (it was built in the 1830s) or we probably would have been dead. I suppose taking the first step towards safety is good, but I just need to make sure I keep walking the path.
Another life lesson learned.