Somehow, the car wash must have caused a momentary electrical short and the radio is acting like it has been removed from the car (perhaps stolen). It seems that someone has set an anti-theft code. This seems like a pretty good system, except that I am positive that I never set the code. The only person who has ever been in the car was the dealer that installed it (Best Buy). I called them and they said they never set anti-theft codes. I understand that an anti-theft code is a good idea, and the process of resetting it needs to be kept secret (or it would benefit car stereo thieves), but what pisses me off is this: No one told me anything about this anti-theft code when I bought the Kenwood car stereo and had it installed. I still have the user’s manual and other proof-of-purchase materials. Some of them have various model numbers and serial numbers, etc. If the installer set the anti-theft code, he should have written it down somewhere and told me about it. Kenwood should make sure that the Best Buy installers do that.

Right now, I’m mad as hell at Kenwood. I feel like I’d like to rip the thing out of the dash and sell it “as is” on Ebay and get another car stereo (not a Kenwood) instead of driving across the city (maybe twice) and paying $40.