I was in the left lane. I managed to get off at the Hegenberger exit and pull into a Motel 6 parking lot. As I was trying to pull into a parking spot, the power steering died and then the car stopped running completely.
I had been relatively calm up until that point, but I more or less shut down then. The OH called Triple-A and we found out that with our cheapo basic service they would tow us only 5 miles without charge, and after 5 miles towing was $10 per mile. So getting the car towed back to where we live across the San Mateo Bridge wasn't a very good option.
We called
Someone from Triple-A arrived in a small truck. The car jump-started OK, but the electrical system was still acting funny (wipers dragging and so forth), and the mechanic was not guaranteeing we could drive it very far. So we opted for a tow.
Half an hour later, an enormous tow truck arrived, the kind where the car gets carried on the back rather than dragged along behind. The operator was able to drive the car onto the back of the truck and off the back of the truck into a parking spot at
Oh, I'll mention at this point that I had the car in for its 60K service last week,, and the service advisor said the battery was due to be replaced within the next six months but didn't need to be replaced now. So I was pretty peeved about these troubles, because I thought he had just been lazy about replacing the battery when it did actually need replacing.
So since the battery was old,
With the battery replaced, the car started up, but the battery indicator remained lit, so we knew something was still wrong, and now we suspected the alternator.
I took the car in to the dealership this morning, and they called later to tell me that the alternator was faulty; they had replaced the alternator a year and a half ago due to a recall, but the part must have been defective; so they were replacing it again and charging me only for labor and not parts.
I don't think I should have been charged for labor either if they gave me a dud part that failed in a dangerous way, but I didn't feel like arguing. However, I expect Subaru will get a whiny letter from me soon.
- Current Mood:
cranky
- Current Music:"Sunday Papers" - Joe Jackson - Look Sharp!
Comments
I'm glad you were able to stop safely, and were near a friend's house, and such. I think Subaru should get, not a whiny letter, but a polite letter of complaint. They might well refund the labor charges. Or not, of course.
When the CD drive on my computer failed after just a few months use, I asked the manufactrer to make good on its warranty, but I didn't expect the guy who installed it to refund his labor fees.