Another week without a blog. Not that there haven't been things happening.

Rapidly preparing for the adaptation to a new schedule of sorts - while preparing for the demise of the old. I sense a change in the weather, so to speak.

I do have a current grump to voice.....

Feeling pretty grumpy about Jiffy Lube these days. Not for the quality of service, but because of their tireless need to upsell service through mechanic-speak and half-truths.

Ever been in this situation? You've driven your car past the persribed 3000 miles-per-oil change. Every once in a while, your engine light goes on. Not the oil light.....the ENGINE light. If you're me, and you've got a newer car that is outside of the warrantee, the tendancy might be to ignore and pray that it's a faulty light - rather than get the shaft from a dealer mechanic. Hey, the car runs fine, why bother.....at least until you can afford it.

So....while you're having your fluids swapped at the oil shop, the technician comes in from the garage with a grim face and some oily gunk on his finger.

"Your engine is plugged up with engine gunk. I've never seen it THIS bad. See this crap? This is the result of water in your engine....blahblahblah.....new engines are having this problem....blahblahblah......you probably have a cracked head or something horrible......blahblahblah......you really need to have us flush your engine.

That'll be $39.99 extra please."

Suddenly that odd flashing engine light pops into view.....your terror mechanism is ready to be sprung. You bite. You have officially been drawn into a service you probably didn't need. A victim of the slippery upsell.

Ugh.

Postscript: Ended up taking the car to the dealership anyway - due to a manufacturer recall campaign for some obscure sensor near the engine. The VERY SAME sensor that was causing my engine light to flash with false urgency. When I mentioned my Jiffy Lube experience and their analysis of the situation, the dealer mechanic said they had been getting a few panicked phone calls from folks with similar Jiffy Lube stories.

Turns out that some of the engine gunk is related to the climate in the Northwest....and is a common element that is not a reflection of anything insidious.

Grrrr.....Jiffy Lube. Grrrr......