Maintenance Complete

Today was the big day for my car to go in for its' oil and filter change and check on whatever it is that is going on with the tires.  Evidently there has been a tremendous increase in maintenance visits for tires and tire pressure in the past week - due mostly to the weather.  First and foremost is the tire pressure issue (also the topic of the feature news story yesterday.)  The second issue frequently negatively impacting the warning system and drive-ability has been the build-up of ice and road "sludge" that freezes in the wheel wells. 

My tires were inflated appropriately (after a little 'at-home' intervention with the air compressor last week when it was 35 below zero,) and were not scheduled to be rotated.  Once inside a warm service garage, where the sludge,etc. fell off, (it was also more than 60 degrees warmer today than it was on air pressure day) the maintenance system did not indicate a tire problem any more - go figure.  The diagnostics testing DID indicate that my battery was not functioning properly, however, and so I received a new battery under the warranty replacement program.  Could that have been the cause of the maintenance system activity?  The gas gauge appears to be functioning at a more responsive rate, the dash lights are brighter (in comparison to what they have been, ) and the clock does not lose a minute + an hour.....hmmmmmmmmmmm.  Well, until we get our own personal diagnostic plug-ins, like the Progressive insurance gizmo, we're at the mercy of the service departments of the auto industry (can you tell I am a little less that confident in their practices???)

Anyway, below are the next stages in our meter officer from Chicago and our summer shopper - equipped with I-phone and ear buds (the picture this was based on was obviously taken pre-WiFi (easily lost) ear buds.