We brought our Honda Odyssey to get its yearly safety check a couple of weeks ago. It failed! What? How can that be? Art takes such good care of it.
Well... way back in the summer of 1999 we took our nephews, Barry and Cody to the East coast and visited Acadia National Park in our brand new Odyssey that we bought for this trip (well, sort of).
When we returned to the parking lot we found that someone had banged into one of our tail lights and left a crack in it. Art considered fixing it, but figured it was still operational. Therefore, he let it go. It's been through 13 years of safety checks with no problem, but not this time.
The Jiffy Lube person was very kind and friendly. She told us that if we went to the dealer it would be really expensive, but if we went to Carquest it would be much more affordable.
We drove there in our Prius. The salesperson asked what color the tail lights were and Art said red and orange.
The salesperson looked up the 1999 Odyssey in the parts catalog and said it should be red and red so that's what Art bought.
Nope! It was supposed to be red and orange. Art installed it anyway.
I should have taken a photo of the other side of the car too so you could see that they now don't exactly match. Doesn't matter.
It passed the safety check.
When we talked to our friend, Sam in Tokyo he said that in Japan their tail lights must be red and orange. Ah well... I guess our van would pass half the safety checks in Japan.
When we returned to the parking lot we found that someone had banged into one of our tail lights and left a crack in it. Art considered fixing it, but figured it was still operational. Therefore, he let it go. It's been through 13 years of safety checks with no problem, but not this time.
The Jiffy Lube person was very kind and friendly. She told us that if we went to the dealer it would be really expensive, but if we went to Carquest it would be much more affordable.
We drove there in our Prius. The salesperson asked what color the tail lights were and Art said red and orange.
The salesperson looked up the 1999 Odyssey in the parts catalog and said it should be red and red so that's what Art bought.
I should have taken a photo of the other side of the car too so you could see that they now don't exactly match. Doesn't matter.
It passed the safety check.
When we talked to our friend, Sam in Tokyo he said that in Japan their tail lights must be red and orange. Ah well... I guess our van would pass half the safety checks in Japan.
We no longer have required safety inspections of our vehicles. There was too much graft and corruption in the process with inspection stations taking money to pass vehicles that would no longer pass, and making up problems that they could charge to fix. Plus there wasn't enough money in it for the legitimate inspection stations to remain designated.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a reassuring feeling knowing that everything is correct and tickety-boo - it makes travelling more enjoyable;-)
ReplyDeletepicky picky...in some areas and not in others like people texting while driving or talking on cell phones...
ReplyDeleteNext time, go to the dealership! :-) Sounds like Jiffy Lube and CarQuest have a cozy relationship...
ReplyDeleteoh glad it passed the safety check now and that it wasn't anything more serious.
ReplyDeleteWho knew? I drive a Toyota, but have never checked its back lights. Dianne
ReplyDeleteDid Sam explain why one piece needs to be orange? Strange!
ReplyDeleteI'll ask Sam when I Skype him again.
DeleteI wonder what the reasoning is in having some red and some orange. At least it will pass the safety check now. You're so lucky to have Art around to fix things!
ReplyDeleteI am, I am... lucky, that is. I forgot what the reason for the two colors were. Art is guessing that one is for turning and the other for braking... maybe. I'll have to ask our Tokyo friend, Sam.
DeleteHusband likes to go to Midas in Waipahu because they haven't made an issue about a small chip in our windshield glass YET! Plus they keep sending a $4 off coupon to remind us of the inspection date. Can't beat that!
ReplyDeleteL. from W.
That's so silly! I'm glad you installed it anyway! I love rainbow colours!
ReplyDeleteSheesh, there's no figuring these things out is there? My son just took his car for its inspection and it failed. It's a six or seven year old car and there is so much wrong with it the people told him it's going to cost around $5,000 to get it fixed, and oh it could blow up on him so it wouldn't be wise driving it. As Gregg is working home most days we have loaned him my car which he picked up today, and it looks like he's thinking of buying a newer model.
ReplyDeleteit's 'amber' nought 'orange'. Also, between a red and an orange/amber rear signal light, it's been proven that "amber" is more safer or noticeable color. To my knowledge, front-signal lights have to be amber. Rear-signals can be either red or amber.
ReplyDeleteTalk about unkind people on the road who crashed your tail light. You could have went directly to your insurance company to deal with the matter.
ReplyDelete