Uh Oh!

As I have so often repeated, I am a creature of habit.  My habit, for years. has been to fill up the gas tank of my car once a week.  When I first got the Vue, I was so delighted with the mileage, that I would sometimes wait for two weeks to put in gas.  As it was, the indicator rarely went below three quarters empty, unless I was doing long distance driving and purposefully did not stop for gas.

But, after a couple of times, during bad winter weather, of wishing I had filled up on the weekend, I have started doing so again weekly.  The mileage is not great in the Vue, but in a typical week, I use between 6-8 gallons of gasoline, depending on how many outings I have not counting work. This is great for me, as when I had the Ford F-150, I typically used between 11-13 gallons of gasoline for an average week.

So, this morning, I filled up the gas tank.  I was startled to see that the purchase was for just over 4 gallons of gasoline.  I stood at the gas tank and wondered what I had forgotten to do this week:  Had I forgotten to go to work a couple of days? Did I meet all of my other obligations?  Even the week I took off from work in August, I used about 6 gallons of gas, given all the chores and entertaining things I did.

I was so startled, that I hastily replaced the gas cap, almost in a panic.  And, I forgot to close the lid, and had to get back out of the car to do that.  After that, the check engine light came on.  Today is the day that I received the On Star Vehicle Diagnostic Report.  It indicated immediate service was needed for the emissions system, and to call On Star for a diagnostic report.  Well, the car was in the garage, (and I have discovered On Star does not come through well in the garage) and I was not going anywhere again today, so I decided to wait until I run errands tomorrow before I do that.  But, in the mean time, an image of myself being disconcerted and surprised at the gas pump occurred to me.  So, I did go out to the car, and replace the gas cap and lid the cover again.  I can hope that was the problem.

If it was, that will be great. If it was not, well, that is why I use On Star.  I have been pleased with the alerts they have sent me over the years: several times because of low tire pressure, but also because of other systems problems. I believe twice, I had warranty work done as a result.  Nothing serious. 

It will be interesting to see what occurs tomorrow when  I take the car out and call On Star.