Drivetrain Malfunction

#NatureTwinning Part 31

September Splendour--Monday, 2/5/18

Some Mondays are all, Go bright or go home.  I didn't go home until after work (and that was a bit of an adventure due to the revisitation of the Drivetrain Malfunction, discussed below), but I did wear a very bright ensemble to work.  Defying all that is right and holy, I even put a cobalt sweater into this mix, instead of a more reasonable white or cream sweater, even though there isn't another bit of cobalt to be seen here.  But in the dark it looked close enough to navy to pass, so that was that.

Outfit cost per wear (OCPW): $16.04

This is a variety of the pink silk floss tree of South America.  Dazzling flowers with a nectar that attracts insect pollinators and hummingbirds but trunk and branches covered in prickles that require "safety buffer zones" to protect people and pets from injury.  Please view this photo from a prudent distance.

Los Angeles Arboretum

Sleeping Snow Leopard at Cat Complex--Tuesday, 2/6/18

To counteract Monday's ocular assault, Tuesday's outfit was much more sedate, depending on subtle pattern and texture mixing for visual interest.  Let's see...silky top, slightly nubbly cardigan, smooth leopard print scarf, mini check pants, rough-textured striped socks, and shiny fabric shoes with contrasting ribbon.  And all in somber shades of grey, black, white, and dark green.

OCPW: $18.81

For gods' sake, she's wearing a leopard scarf, will she finally bring out some more big cats?  Too many pink flowers, ugly aquatic beasts, and assorted hoofstock.  We want charismatic megafauna of the feline variety!

OK, fine, how is this then...an adorable dozing snow leopard, lolling about on his back with his giant soft paw propped up, his ears smooshed, and his white furry belly all exposed?

Henry Doorly Zoo

But you know, if you're kind of missing some of my uglier animals, you can always check out this "ugliest animals on earth" photo gallery.  (Axolotl, ugly animal 6 in the slide show, was covered in #NatureTwinning Part 3!)

In other news...I mentioned back in late February 2016 that I'd gotten a "drivetrain malfunction" message on my car, but that it went away the next time I started the car and didn't return.

Well, then in early February 2017, I got the message again, only it didn't go away after restarting the car.  But because the car was still drivable, I started driving home. 

Very close to my apartment (which is only 5 minutes away from work), it developed an engine oil with stop driving immediately type message.  I got into the parking garage, then we had it towed to the shop and they fixed it.

Fast forward to early February 2018 (I believe one year to the day) since the previous time and it did the exact same thing again--drivetrain malfunction, then engine oil message.  We took it to the shop AGAIN and the mechanics verified from the computer log that it was the exact same series of errors as happened one year earlier.  They conferred with BMW central because it was a repeat issue, and they ended up replacing the cylinder head (which was different from last year, though I can't recall exactly what it was and am too lazy to look it up--crankshaft? camshaft? drive shaft?).

I've read online that the drivetrain malfunction is a pretty generic message and that it can happen when something goes wrong (or your car thinks something is wrong) and your car is trying to "protect itself."  I've read about it being a problem with everything from a software issue fixed by getting it updated to bad fuel injector, fuel pump, turbo actuator gate, and a bunch of random things that I don't recognize.

I wonder if it's cold weather related in some way because February is definitely the coldest month of the year, and my car sits out in the work parking lot in below 0 F temperatures during the day (at least it sits in the garage at night, where it's significantly warmer).

Anyway, I'm hoping that this recent fix (still under warranty) keeps me going for AT LEAST a year.  I'm nervous about what will happen when the car is no longer under warranty and I have to pay to get it fixed!