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calling all cars

metsmarathon Jul 02 2018 07:46 PM

i figured we needed a car problems thread. well, more specifically, our car decided we needed a car problems thread. driving home last night from a toasty weekend at the jersey shore, '14 subaru outback loaded with sleeping little marathons and about a hundred stuffed animals along for the ride. twenty minutes from home, on a flat stretch of local highway, speed limit 35 mph. no traffic, thank god. and the car turns off. not stalled, not sputtered to a stop. turned off like i just turned the key. it even had the courtesy to say "goodbye" on the dashboard. at least it was polite. no warning signs. no check engine light. no error codes. nothing. coasting, unpowered. i'm pretty sure the headlights stayed on. holy.... now, mind you - i've driven plenty a beater in my day. and i'm well-versed in the "shift to neutral | turn key | restart car | shift back to drive" maneuver. i executed it flawlessly, and was able to continue driving uneventfully homeward. problem is, this is usually mrs.mm's car. the kid-carrying car. and she was mystified by the automotive jujitsu i had just accomplished. if it had happened to her, she would have been, at best, forced off the road. hell, if it had happened to me, anywhere else on the drive home yesterday, it could've been very bad. without power, none of the safety features work anymore. no airbags. no ABS. no power steering. i'm concerned that at high speeds, braking might be compromised as well. so i took the car to subaru today. they looked it over for a few hours, and called me back to tell me there's nothing wrong that they can find. there was no check engine light that came on. no error code logged by the computer. they checked a bunch of electrical connections and mechanical features. all appears in working order. the car is fine to drive away. like. bloody. hell. per my request, they're grudgingly checking with higher authorities. i expect there to be no meaningful cause presented. this is pretty unacceptable to me. it means the problem could recur. or not. with no warning. at any time. was it a sensor that got confused? a loose wire? the road was smooth, not bumpy, so i'm not considering a mechanical failure or loose wire to be the cause. if so, it's unlikely that it would restart so readily. no, this was almost certainly something software, or at least internal to the car's computer. which means one thing. the car told itself to turn off. and there's no telling why. but at least it was polite about it. cue the ominous music. i'll keep y'all updated as to the outcome of this. i figure there's enough of y'all with subies that you might like to know about this. so, um.. how are your cars?

batmagadanleadoff Jul 02 2018 07:57 PM Re: calling all cars

I wouldn't trust that car anymore. Also I'm surprised your mechanic, instead of telling you that he couldn't find anything wrong, didn't come up with some phony phantom fix designed to separate you from about two thousand of your dollars, human nature being what it is.

Ceetar Jul 02 2018 08:03 PM Re: calling all cars

Some googling suggests that GM had a similar issue and issued a recall. Blamed it on heavy key rings. That would've been my guess if what to look for. Loose ignition or something in there that made it think you'd turned it off. Wouldn't need a pothole or anything, just the vibration or bumping with a knee.

Edgy MD Jul 02 2018 08:13 PM Re: calling all cars

Aren't you an engineer of sorts? Can't you ask at work and get about 1,000 opinions? OE: And be safe! In my experience, Subarus have a very definite expiration date. All the Subarus on my block died the same year.

A Boy Named Seo Jul 02 2018 08:15 PM Re: calling all cars

Holy mackerel, how scary. Glad you guys are alright.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 02 2018 08:17 PM Re: calling all cars

metsmarathon wrote: so, um.. how are your cars? Fine, thank you! I have a 2003 Honda Accord with over 180,000 miles and never any major troubles. (I realize that can't go on forever, but it's been a great run so far.) Each year at inspection time, it costs me between $500 and $1,000 for routine maintenance, but that's a lot cheaper than monthly car payments, which I haven't had to make in many years.

41Forever Jul 02 2018 08:25 PM Re: calling all cars

Glad you are OK, and it's so frustrating when you've invested a day and know something is wrong and the techs can't find it. When I got the job 71 miles away and my old but beloved Saturn Vue became unreliable, I knew I needed something very reliable that gets great gas mileage. I settled on a Honda Civic, and put 230,000 miles on it in under five years. It's been perfect. Replacing the starter this spring was the first non-routine maintenance repair we've had to make. We had a bad experience with a Civic in the early 2000s, so I was a little leery at first. But this car has been fantastic. Now that my commute is a lot shorter, we're considering an upgrade to the CRV. My kayak doesn't quite fit in the back of the Civic.

d'Kong76 Jul 02 2018 08:41 PM Re: calling all cars

metsmarathon wrote: so, um.. how are your cars? Our loan ended not too long ago on our Honda Pilot, so I'm expecting it to explode sometime over the summer. Not sure it's morally/ethically correct but I'd sell a car that turns off for no reason and Suburu's own techs can't tell why.

Ceetar Jul 02 2018 08:44 PM Re: calling all cars

or maybe it was a dry run for the technology and hackers are going to turn all our cars off at once in the coming months. buy a horse.

d'Kong76 Jul 02 2018 09:04 PM Re: calling all cars

Ceetar turned off your car, mm.

MFS62 Jul 03 2018 01:50 AM Re: calling all cars

I had a similar problem on a Nissan several years ago - going 60 on the highway and the engine just stopped. I realized that if I hit my brakes, I would stop in the middle of the road. Power steering was gone, but I was able to force the wheel to the right and slowly coast off the road. Had the car towed to the dealer (about 20 + miles away). They told me the fuel line had disconnected and dropped off the tank (which is under the trunk). Good thing I got off to the side of the road. If a car had hit me from behind, the fireball would have been the lead story on Headline News. I think my experience with calling customer service is in the Customer Service thread. I no longer own that car. Later

Edgy MD Jul 03 2018 12:10 PM Re: calling all cars

d'Kong76 wrote: Ceetar turned off your car, mm. Where's the like button?

metirish Jul 03 2018 12:35 PM Re: calling all cars

Very scary MM and disconsotring. I know every time you jump in the car you will be thinking about what happened...sucks...my MINI Cooper around this time last year started making a clacking sound when driving...took it to a local guy down the street as I wasn't sure it would make it to the MINI Dealership in White Plains...two days later this bozo tells me I need a new engine....wtf I said. I called the dealer, drove it to them, by 2pm car was fixed , traction belt replaced $1200+ ...I actually felt relieved ...two weeks later new battery...

Lefty Specialist Jul 03 2018 01:49 PM Re: calling all cars

Been lucky with my current cars, but previously had a Toyota Highlander where the transmission just went kablooey at 54,000 miles. One minute I was able to drive, the next, it was reeving high and in neutral. Pulled over and was able to get the trans re-engaged, but that was a scary ride home. Since I was over 50k, the dealership wanted to fight me over the cost as it was out of warranty. I said, "Well, I'll never buy a car here again". They finally agreed to fix it on their dime, but I immediately traded it in at another dealer for a Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid that's been a dream to drive for the past 4 years.

Ceetar Jul 03 2018 06:00 PM Re: calling all cars

d'Kong76 wrote: Ceetar turned off your car, mm. now now, if it was me I would've hacked the 'GOODBYE' text to 'JAY BRUCE SUCKS' or something.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 04 2018 10:46 PM Re: calling all cars

We drive a 2010 Jetta wagon we bought new for cash. Never buy a car on credit. Only really use it for trips, mother-in-law, etc. 57k miles so far in ~8 years. knock on wood it's never had a mechanical problem but 8 years of parking outdoors, 7 of them on Brooklyn streets, and it's the ugliest thing you've ever seen. Lost a wheel cover a year ago, replaced em with a $39 set from Pep boys and they fell off within 100 miles now we go bare. Lost side mirrors and brakelights several times in parked mishaps, dinged like crazy all over the bumpers and never been left a note, got rammed by a wide-turn taking truck while parked, knocked the whole thing up on the curb and destroyed the driver-side door, douchebag never left a note. Got it fixed but the "new" door creaks when it opens and doesn't shut as satisfyingly as it used to. Always ran a little noisy, and has the worst-sounding stereo I ever heard but still reliable. Wifey wants to leave it to the Pail when he's old enough to drive but he's puked in it so many times I'm sure he hates it and it's a complete dork mobile. I dream of getting nicer wheels but I know what fate awaits a car here. IIRC Sharpie told the same story of his wheels in Brooklyn.