Car Troubles

[lydamorehouse]

This morning was quite entertaining.

Mason and I were waiting, as usual, in the car for mommy to come out and hop in. When I saw her on the sidewalk eyeing the gigantic mounds of snow she'd have to struggle across to get in, I thought, "Hey, I'll back right up to the cut out! Won't that be nice of me?" Well, with my eye on Shawn, I did that. Except, uh, there was that other car parked there. Which I bumped, though not more than a bumper bump. After checking that Mason was okay, I quick hopped out to make sure nothing was scratched on either car. Their car alarm went off, but there wasn't even a scratch. Our bumper looked a little worse for wear, but I've been backing into a lot of things lately. Anyway, relieved, we all got back in the car. I turned the key. Wrrrr-wrrrrr. Nada. I tried again. Wrrrrr-wrrrrr.

Hmmmm. Okay, I thought, clearly I've flooded the car somehow. I'll wait a bit and give it another try. Mason complained that we would NEVER go again and that we'd have to get a new car. I confessed that I was worried he was right.

Meanwhile, time was ticking. We had to get him to school. I started talking about options. I could call a taxi for Shawn and Mason and get them where they needed to be. Shawn looked mortified with this option because my darling is more than a little shy of dealing with people, particularly service people. I called AAA, of which we are gold members for perhaps obvious reasons (see above with the frequent bumping issues.)

Plus, our cars have always been old. This one is a Ford Taurus from 1997. It's the newest car we've ever owned. So, while we waited for the tow truck, Shawn called to inform the school that Mason would be late and called in to her work to let them know the same. I tried the car a few more times, getting slower and slower wrrrrrrrrrr-wrrrrrrr's. I stopped figuring that the battery was running down. Meanwhile, I kept thinking, "WTF?" Okay, so I bonked that car, but come on! Hard enough to what? Crack the fuel line? Shake loose a spark plug? Loosen the distributor cap? Break the starter? The hell?

When the very butch AAA service woman showed up, she asked me what happened. Sheepishly, I confessed to bumping the other car first. Her face lit up. "I know what the problem is!" You do? You are a goddess, I told her. She had me pop, of all things, the trunk, and then showed me a button. The fuel braker switch with is a saftey feature to stop fuel from continuing through your car after an accident. She said a tap as light as a shopping cart hitting the bumper can trip the switch. She pressed the button, hooked up a battery charger, and then presto! We were on the road again. Mason was only twenty minutes late to school, and these days that only means he misses a few minutes of "active learning time" (aka "structured play.")

Sheesh.

The car runs fine now, of course. Who knew about the switch?

Comments

[naomikritzer]

I have had an AAA service call for exactly that problem. So I know about that switch, and might even recognize the problem if it happened, but I would STILL have to call AAA because damned if I have ANY idea how to switch the fuel back on once that thing gets tripped. (OK, I could check my car manual, but the manual would probably instruct me to take it to a Toyota Dealer, which is its answer to nearly everything.)

[(Anonymous)]

Well, as a man I knew about the switch of course. I also have, as all men do, the James-Bond ability to leap into any form of transportation and immediately know how to drive/fly it.

Just kidding, of course. It takes me 15 minutes to figure out how to pop the hood of my car. Not that I can do anything with the stuff under the hood.

jpj

[lydamorehouse]

Well, I opened the hood. Then I stared at it for a long time thinking, "hey, look... uh, stuff."

Reset button!

[reader222.livejournal.com]

Hi Lyda - it's Betsy from Rockford. As I was reading your entry, I could see exactly where you were going - because, many years ago, Warren had the same problem on the Eisenhower Expressway - during rush hour. When a police officer finally stopped to ask what the problem was, his comment was - "Did you try the reset switch?" Needless to say, neither one of us had EVER heard of a reset switch. Now, any time something doesn't work, Warren asks if anyone has tried the reset switch.

[skinismy13.livejournal.com]

I had car troubles this morning too!

Me and my old man were putting coolant in it because it has a pesky coolant leak (sorry mother earth!!) and it was all going well until I put it in drive to take off...(you're supposed to have the car running to put coolant in)..it kind of just died. Then it wouldn't start. Same whrr noises...same frustrations (I was late for work). After trying a bunch of weird things, my dad had me turn on the ignition and floor the gas. It puttered to life. This is how I have to start my car from now on. WRRRRR KA CHUNK KA CHUNK VRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

[xochiquetzl]

Not me, and I have a big ol' toolkit (for computers) and carry bolt-cutters in my car. 'Cause, you never know when someone's locked up something that's supposed to be your responsibility to fix.

[holy-toledo.livejournal.com]

I consider myself lucky every time I didn't put windshield wiper fluid in the oil, and still call my Daddy when I get a flat tire. I even occasionally flick my windshield wipers instead of my turn signal. But I have the finesse (and speed) of an Indy 500 driver.

Now, anyone who would like a list of times and locations NOT to be on the road, knowing that I will be there, swigging bottled water, talking on my cell phone, weaving in-and-out of traffic, and eating a cheeseburger at 80 miles an hour, let me know.

-Mel

[msimon777.livejournal.com]

I didn't know about the reset switch in the trunk. However, I did learn about the child lock activation switches in the rear doors today! No more do I need to worry about my inquisitive boys investigating door locks while we are on the highway!

[hutch0.livejournal.com]

Seems a tad oversensitive, doesn't it? I wonder how many people have been left unable to start their cars in supermarket carparks just because someone was briefly unable to control their trolley?