I just had to tell this story...
I left my 2003 OBW (H6-3.0) at the local Subaru shop yesterday afternoon for the cruise control recall and a couple of other, trivial things. They were really busy, the parking lot was almost full, and it was near closing time, so I locked the car before I left. (I didn't know if they would take the time.) I gave them a key, of course.
This morning, I got a call from the shop. They claimed I'd locked the car with the remote (true), but I'd left them the valet key so they couldn't move the car (false). They said when they opened the door, the alarm sounded and the starter was disabled. It's a 60-mile drive from here and a time-zone difference, so they just wanted me to know I'd have to drive over there and unlock the car before they could start working on it.
What's funny about this story is:
1) They just assumed that, because the key I gave them didn't include a remote fob, it must be a valet key. 2) They didn't know how to turn off the security alarm in a Subaru. (Put the key in the ignition and turn it on-and-off three times.)I told the service rep we'd left a *regular* (duplicate) key, and she protested that the key did not work--using it triggered the alarm and disabled the starter. I told her we use that key all the time, and it works fine (except it *does* trigger the alarm if I've locked the car with the remote). She argued that the key did not work--it would not start the car. I asked her if she had tried turning the alarm off before starting the car, and she didn't know what I was talking about. I had to explain it *twice*--"while alarm is sounding, put key in ignition, turn it on then off three times...and then the car will start"-- before she agreed to try it. She said the mechanic hadn't said anything about that.
Of course, this is the same place where, 3 years ago, the same Subaru mechanic *insisted* that the climate control buttons on my '98 OBW did not have lights behind them. He said the buttons were solid, black plastic and weren't designed to be lighted. (We all know about that one!).
C. Brunner