OK, now this is a goddamn problem. And the regulator (actually it was the dampener, something that was replaced a couple years ago) a couple weeks ago actually did not help, at all.
I was watching The Imitation Game (quick review: don't know how impactful it was for me, and after checking online to see how much liberty the movie took from the life of Alan Turing I was kind of disappointed it wasn't more faithful to reality but hey, this is a movie) I planned on going to work out. It was really cold outside, and the car is still giving me problems, so to be safe I sat in the car as it warmed up for five minutes. But I noticed that my car was not idling well; the tachometer needle was fluttering up and down, and sometimes so low that it felt as if the engine was going to die. That has happened some times when the car later stalls on the road, though not always, so when that happened, I girded myself but still planned as if I was going the ten miles to the community center.
But then I pulled out of the parking lot and took a left from the light. As soon as I let go of the brake my car was coasting, not speeding up. I was stepping on the gas pedal as hard as I ever had, but I would have been moving just as fast if I were pushing it. I have no idea how it was moving at all; only the physical locomotion of the car got me around that turn, and I was surprised it even did that since I was going from a dead stop at the light.
This stall/non-response to acceleration was the longest yet -- 10, maybe 15 seconds. There was one car behind me, and after she saw that I wasn't moving as fast I should have, she went around me. Don't know if she gave me the finger on her way past me, but I was too worried about other things to notice. This was going on so long I decided I had to pull over, and thankfully I was able to do that. Then, after a second on the shoulder, the car finally responded to me stepping on the gas. I thought it was good enough to go all the way to the gym, but I felt it hesitate on me when I was going about 50, so I pulled out, drove back to The Other Mechanic Around The Corner, and immediately scheduled an appointment for Thursday. I would have wanted one for today, actually, and I don't know if they're going to find anything if I give them the car only for the day, which I will have to do as long as my parents are home. But I have to do something. And who knows -- if this stalling occurs only every other day, it's next going to rear its ugly head Thursday, and hopefully, after a few hours being exposed to the harsh winds of our current weather, the mechanics will finally see and hear what I've been seeing and hearing.
What happened yesterday scared the shit out of me, and so I admit I panicked when I scheduled to take my car in to investigate a problem that might not show up while it's in their hands. I'm very, very lucky that there was no real traffic beyond that one lady in the car; if it were rush hour, the 15 seconds I was a sitting duck might have been fatal. I'm lucky in another way; as much as not working sucks, at least I now have a few weeks to see what really is wrong without it interfering with work, because there is no work. I now have to hope that this stalling finally crops up -- at the auto shop, not on the road. And if I have to use their loaner every goddamn day until it shows up, I'll do it. Because I can't take not being able to drive this thing anymore.
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