Valkyre

I Guess We Were Being a Little Too Gentle

Doh! I feel like such a doofus. The night we got the New Beetle, a little red icon lit up on the dash that indicated that the trunk was open. Problem was, the trunk wasn't open. Mike and I both checked and it seemed to be latched. About the same time, the alarm quit emitting a "beep" when we armed it. I called the dealer thinking I had two problems with the car. He talked to one of the mechanics, and they said it's not uncommon for a switch or fuse to go out, make the icon light up, and, the alarm "beep" will not work, because the car thinks the trunk is still open. So, he wanted me to set up and appointment at their service area to bring the car in. Trouble was, I really couldn't find the time. I figured I would wait until the girls were on winter vacation, which is next week. That would make it a little easier for me. So, for three weeks or so, I have been driving around with this annoying red icon all lit up on my dash. The alarm does work. I found that out the hard way. (That's another blog entry. And no, no one tried stealing the car.) Anyway, I came home from grocery shopping yesterday. Unloaded the car and, with me hands full, pushed the trunk lid down firmly, let go, and let gravity take over. It shut with a nice firm thunk. I looked at it and noticed that it seemed to be a little bit more snug with the lines of the car. No way..... Sure enough, I clicked the button for the alarm and the horn emitted a nice small "beep". And yes, when I went to drive it later, the red icon was gone. It turns out that Mike and I both had been gently closing the lid. While it was latching, it wasn't completely sealed. It really needs a nice firm push. I felt like a big doofus this morning when I sent an e-mail to the dealer letting them know that the problem was fixed and I wouldn't need to bring the car in. But, I am glad that that was the problem and it wasn't something that broke down so soon on the new car already.