Saw it during my morning amble. I first thought it was alive (& fine) & was busy trying to make sure the dogs didn’t get close. Then I noticed the NECK. Yikes.
I wasn’t anxious to spend too much time looking. It was NOT pleasant.
I initially thought it must have got hit by a vehicle (since it was on the side of a fairly well travelled road). I am NOT sure. Yes, some of the shell is missing. Looks like something ate a chunk of the next. That could have been after it died. I don’t know. This was the only picture I took. I didn’t want to spend too much time around it. Plus I had the dogs (who luckily were totally uninterested in it (possibly because it was dead)).
Click to ENLARGE. First part of service record.Click to ENLARGE. 2nd part.Click to image to access my April 15, 2023 post.
NOT FUNNY. NOT HAPPY.
But, that was the CASE, alas.
At least the dealership (which will remain nameless for now) was honest enough to immediately, upfront admit that it was all due to an inexperienced, rookie technician.
I guess they thought that a simple software update should be within his training. Well, it appears not.
So, a week Friday they had to give me a LOANER (which to be fair was pretty nice (& a tad better featured than mine)) so I could go to ‘Lake George‘, New York as planned. That trip was a success & the loaner did OK.
I called the dealership Thursday once I got home. They told me the facts & that my car was ready. But, they had also promised to clean a bit before giving it back.
I couldn’t get up there till late Friday afternoon. My car was ready & it was cleaner than it has been in a very long time. That at least was a consolation.
Drove it back. Seems OK. Much to my relief & DELIGHT none of the SETTINGS had been lost. The Sirius XM favorites, the garage door opener etc. etc. all worked. So, that was good. Not sure about any of the stuff they did … like VGM Reload, ECM Reload, TCAM battery recharge etc. Just hope they knew what they were doing.
Click to ENLARGE. E-mail I got from Volvo March 6, 2023.Click to ENLARGE & read here. Link to ‘Volvo Support’.
So, so, so frigging GLAD that this was NOT ‘OTA’ (Over the Air). I would have been totally dead in the frigging water.
This was a DEALER — a very big & super-good DEALER at that — doing it.
Totally KILLED the car. Couldn’t even open the tailgate! I had my hiking gear bag in the back (as always, packed & ready for action). LUCKILY we were able to pull it out by folding the backseat.
This is BEYOND STUPID. Car totally dead. They don’t know what is wrong with it!
They, at the dealership, can do OTA. Appears they tried doing it OTA 3 times. Failed each time. So, they plugged the car into the computer. That is when they FRIED the car!
I took the car (i.e., XC60) in at 12:30 (as agreed). They said about two hours. That is fair enough. It was 80F. I went ambling. {See the pictures}
At 3:30pm they sheepishly broke the news. WE HAD A PROBLEM. I am going ambling in upstate New York on Monday. I told them, forget the update, just get the car to the state it was when I brought it in. They admitted they couldn’t. Told me that they can’t even open the tailgate. I was NOT amused.
They, of course, immediately offered me a loaner. They had to.
My XC60 is my HIKING car. The Mazda CX-30 is my local car. The XC60 is PRECISELY packed with all my hiking gear. Spare boots, sticks, clothing, straps, picnic stuff, hotel/motel stuff (e.g., extension cords, nighlights {SMILE}), maps.
I had to transfer 90% of the stuff from my DEAD car to the loaner — which was a XC60. I was nearly done when I remembered SIRIUS XM. I can’t drive without Sirius {& I am NOT kidding} & there was no way I was going on a hiking trip WITHOUT Sirius. I need to listen to CNBC. SMILE. That loaner didn’t have Sirius. I am so RELIEVED that I had asked.
They scrambled around & got me another loaner that had Sirius. This was FANCY. Fancier than mine! It was a 2023 whereas mine is a 2022. It also has Premium Sound & is a B6 (whereas mine is a B5 with POLESTAR). So, at least, I don’t have to slum it. It is pretty nice car — with only 3,000 on the clock (whereas mine (after 16 months) has 12,900 miles). Plus, I will save myself around 800 miles on the lease. SMILE. They still owe me.
We knew them, i.e., the two mountain lions, well. We used to be v. frequent visitors to the ‘Squam Lakes Science Center‘ for many, many years in a row. We had ‘Boston’ ‘Museum of Science‘ membership which gave us free or reduced admission. We went even outside of that.
We were invited to an evening viewing & reception when the two baby cubs first arrived. I guess that was 19 to 20 years ago. Well we have seen them so often after that.
Indubitably they were the highlight of any visits. Such beautiful & majestic animals. Plus, they had got quite tame. They tolerated us, the annoying public. Sometimes I have seen them interact & play with visitors.
Sad to see that they are both gone. May 2018 was probably our last visit — given that 2020 to now was COVID.
I had no idea how long they lived. I gather 19 to 20 years is the norm.
I hope they had a good life at Squam. We can never be sure. They were well taken care of, BUT they were not free. They could NOT roam.
