So simple, yet I was clueless.

Gee even amazon has them ;) But BMW is too cheep to include one?

Cheers

No, The driver found it in the trunk. Mikek

It can be worse. A friend who was just about to receive his engineering degree became stuck on an autobahn. Nothing worked anymore in his BMW. The tow truck driver arrived. "Sir, did you possibly hit the theft protection switch?" ... "The what?" ... "That switch in the glove compartment" ... Now it dawned on him. He had just purchased a carton of cigarettes over in the Netherlands where they were cheaper and during the ride it slid around too much on the front seat. So he reached over and stuffed it into the glove compartment where it barely fit. That's when the engine quit.

The tow truck driver reached in .. click. "Can you try to start it?" ... VROOOM. It was customary back then that they fill in some simple statistic data and one question was always what profession the driver had. "Ahm, ahem, well ... I work in marketing ... Sir".

On 09

Also, don't forget the petrol pump cut-out switch... can be set off after going over an extra large bum etc... :) Seen that more than once...

I stayed overnight in a hotel in Bilbao, valet parking. Next morning SWMBO and I go to the underground garage to fetch the car. It was between two others with only a couple of inches space, no way to get in.

Parking attendant walks over, smiles, reaches under the front bumper and pulls the car forward.

Cheers

Yup. That happened to a neighbor in a Ford Scorpio. They were slightly rear-ended. After the police handled everything they wanted to continue their journey because their car only had minor bumper damage. It wouldn't start anymore.

/\

So avoid hitting fat people :-)

So this switch was to keep someone from stealing your cigarettes? How was that supposed to work?

That happened to me with an old beater (rusty AMC wagon,) after hitting a b ig bump driving back to college in snowstorm conditions. Miles from nowher e, suddenly won't start.

Pop the hood, aha the BATTERY IS GONE.

The bolts/strap rusted through, so the bump launched it forward, fell down beside the engine, one battery clamp pulled off. Just screw the clamp back on, hammer a piece of 2X4 in front to keep the battery in place, and no ne ed to freeze to death in a blizzard.

January 1985. I had to collect my new car from another city >500km away. It was a newly launched Japanese sub-mini model, very basic but lively and the first model in India made with modern technology. Before it, protectionism and monopoly had limited the choice of cars to two ancient models.

Soon after I left the city, I began to notice that the leg room was rather cramped even for my small frame. Now this car was the first model in India with bucket seats and I thought that it was likely to be adjustable. I pulled over but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to do it.

By the time I reached home after driving more than 500km over twisting mountain roads, my right knee ached so much that I had to hobble out of the car. *Then* I immediately found the seat adjustment lever.

RTFM! :)

Bye Jack

Such happens to people who don't RTFM.

Those tow eyes often have left-hand threads, so they may require some concentration to undo after the job is done, I saw one car parked with the tow eye in place...

and if the threads where it screws into isn't well greased there a good chance it'll be so rusted that when you need it it'll be useless

Now I'm noticing that these tow hooks are an speed accessorie. I've seen a few supped up four bangers with the hook on display on the bumper. Usually its the woven Nylon type but screwed into the bumper or behind the grill.

Cheers

because race car. I believe you usually have to have it mounted if you go on a racetrack, so if you want to pretend you go racing every sunday you leave it on ;)

Kinda like the spare tires slung under the back of SUVs and trucks.