Sometimes you gotta do something

My first task of 2025 was getting the oil changed in my 2005 Jeep Liberty. So I headed off to the nearest oil change franchise where they promised a stressless automotive service experience for me and a quick lube job for my vehicle.

I was thrilled to discover that I was the only one seeking an oil change at that particular service station on that morning, and as I pulled into the parking lot a young man about 20-years-old greeted me with a smile.

Then the entire experience went south.

Here in Florida they don't let owners drive their vehicles into service bay slots probably because here in Florida drivers don't know how to do that without killing the fellow standing in the pit beneath the bay.

So I got out of the driver's seat to let the cheerful young man slide in.

Then he frowned.

“Excuse me,” he said as he entered the vehicle. “Where is the button that opens the hood?”

Button? Well this is a 20-year-old vehicle. They hadn't invented buttons yet.

“There isn't one – you have to reach down to the floorboard near the driver's door and pull the lever up,” I replied.

“Where?'

I asked the young man to get out of the vehicle and he and I crouched down where we could see the spot near the floor, alongside the driver's side door where the lever in question resided.

“See?”

The young man shook his head, climbed back into the driver's seat and drove the Jeep into the bay.

He was still shaking his head when he exited the vehicle.

Five minutes later, the motor oil was changed and the young man, also about 20-years-old standing in the pit, asked another question.

“Want me to reset the oil reserve sensor button?”

“Uh, what?”

“You know, the sensor that tells you how much oil you have left before your next change?”

“Oh, no,” I replied. “That's alright.”

“Really, it's no problem,” he answered. “I'm just going to look for the sensor...”

He never found it because this vehicle was made 20-years ago and they hadn't invented those sensors yet.

“Wow!” he said. “You gotta check the oil yourself!”

Well, yes. And turn the headlights off manually and check the tires with one of those manual gauges.

It's a hardship, really.

But sometimes you just gotta do something besides press buttons or wait for the lights to turn off.