Nobody likes car trouble.
The biggest concern I want to have is keeping it clean, putting gas in
it and getting the oil changed. I am not
mechanically inclined nor do I like getting dirty or recognizing the magnitude
of my ignorance.
7:55 AM (35 degrees F) – While dropping my 6 year old off at
school in the drive through drop-off, I put the car in park, she exits and I
start to put the car in drive and the gear shift is stuck. I go through my usually diagnostics of
pushing the brake harder, jamming the buttons on the transmission, jiggling the
gear shift, jiggling the steering wheel and turning the car on and off. All the while, I have created a logjam at the
school and my 4 year old is patiently waiting in the back seat while internally
she is dreading missing show and tell at her daycare.
8:00 AM – Several people stop by and are willing to
help. The consensus is that it is a
safety feature to make sure the brake is on before putting the car in
gear. This makes sense to me. I decline help from Helper #1 to take my 4
year old to daycare and call my wife to come and get us.
8:07 AM - My wife arrives, picks up my 4 year old and
contacts our insurance company for a tow.
As the brake lights are not coming on, it may be relay or fuse
that is the problem. Helper #2 helps me
locate the fuse box, under the steering column on the left hand side, and he
visually checks several fuses before exhausting his available time/expertise. Helper #3 contacts her husband who Googles my
problem and the hunt starts for the safety override which according to the
schematic is underneath the center console.
Helper #4 is generously helping me look for the override and no
luck. We start checking other fuses
thanks to Helper #3’s tools and Helper #4’s electrical and troubleshooting
knowledge. The manual is being passed
around, the hood is up, and all three fuse locations have been opened.
I am having flashbacks to the fuel pump going out on my
truck while dropping the same daughter off at day care 5 years earlier. I got it towed to a service center, had it
fixed and promptly sold the vehicle. I
convince myself that I am buying a new car with a manual transmission once
finances allow.
8:41 AM – I call the tow company to verify that help is on
the way.
9:00 AM Helper #4 spots a dangling wire near the top of the
brake pedal. This is most likely related
to my problem. We try to reattach this
to several points on the switch, but the brake lights are not coming on and the
car is still stuck in park.
9:20 AM – I call Firestone to let them know I will be having
my car towed there.
9:30 AM – Helper #3 and Helper #4 have done all they can and
wish me the best of luck. I am
absolutely impressed by how friendly and helpful people are. I am still waiting on the tow. I grab a pop-tart and have breakfast in the
car. I go inside the school and use the
restroom.
9:45 AM – The flatbed tow truck arrives and is dismayed that
the car is stuck in park. He cannot load
it or tow it like this. He puts the car
through the same paces I did, albeit more aggressively. He calls the dispatcher and they agree to
send out a different tow truck.
10:00 AM – I call the dispatcher and find out the tow is
still probably 30 minutes out. To pass
the time, I start flipping through the manual and find several nifty features
of my 9 year old car including how to open up the trunk from inside the car (pg
52). Under the “Driving Section” (pg
109) there is a section titled Brake-shift interlock which is a technique to
get the car out of park. There are 5 key
locations.
1 = ACC
2 = LOCK
3 = OFF
4 = ON
5 = START
The technique involves putting the turning the key to the
off position, putting the car in neutral, starting the car and then putting the
car in drive. I can’t believe I did not
see this before.
10:33 AM – Miraculously the car starts and I cancel the tow
and drive to Firestone. I definitely
want the car checked out despite the apparently successful work around.
10:40 AM – I arrive at Firestone and they are willing to
take a look at it while I wait.
11:00 AM – My car is pulled into the bay
11:35 AM – My car is apparently all set. The front desk has two blown fuses which
were apparently my problem. I get to
talk to the technician that says he soldered the loose wire to the correct
place, checked all of the fuses and replaced those two and that I should be all
set. The pulled wire, likely contributed
to the fuses blowing.
11:45 AM – I am on my way to work with a paid bill for 30
minutes of labor.
Lessons learned:
- There are a lot of amazing people in the world. I can't imagine trying to get someone else's car moving without any specific expertise in the matter. Especially when it is cold outside.
- Firestone is a great service provider, squeezing me in between customers, troubleshooting my problem and fixing it for a very fair cost.
- I need to keep some tools in the car including spare fuses, multi-tool (maybe a Christmas present?), duct tape, electrical tape, screwdrivers, flashlight and probably a light blanket as well.
- I should keep my car clean. It is bad enough to be crawling around on somebody’s floor mats without having to move aside paper towels and drink bottles.
- On the upside, nobody got hurt, I met some great people, have an obligation to pay it forward, and learned something today.
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