Six years ago, I had a problem with my computer that turned out to be corrupted RAM. After it was fixed, after a month of annoyance and trying to troubleshoot it, I wrote the tale on NYRA’s forums and later posted it here. After that, because I had specified the error message and all, I found a lot of search hits going to that page, and I later wondered how many people I was helping, people who were in the same position I was.
I think I’ll do it again. This time with cars!
Namely, Hyundai Elantra. I have a 2007 Elantra. Last year, its alarm kept going off for no reason. Middle of the night. Neighbors surely wanted to murder me. And I didn’t know how to stop it. Searching online didn’t even help much. There was one night I was sitting up awake until really late waiting to shut it off if it went off again. I thought it stopped happening, that it was just one weird time, but my housemate told me it happened again. And again. :\
It’s a common Elantra problem actually. The alarm kept going off because there’s a sensor thingy under the hood that detects whether the hood is open, and if it thinks the hood is open when the car is locked, it sets off the alarm. When this happens, the sensor is always thinking the hood is open! I think the wind especially triggers it.
So I took it to the dealership and waited, wondering what they’d find and how much I was about to owe. Only to find they knew exactly what it was, replaced the sensor, and because my car was still under warranty, didn’t cost me a thing! Yay!
And I’m thinking about it again now because I have a neighbor who also has an Elantra and its alarm has been going off the past several nights! This neighbor probably also doesn’t know what to do, if he/she even knows about it. I’m going to go out and leave a note on the windshield telling them it’s the hood sensor and to take it to the dealership.
True, this might not quite be as helpful as the computer problem since my advice is still basically to go to the dealership and have them fix it, and could be costly if warranty is expired. Could be the neighbor knows this already but can’t afford the repair right now, and my note might come off as more obnoxious than helpful. But I guess I’ll still bet on helpful.
