Vapor lock is supposed to be a problem which afflicted older cars on hot summer days, like my old 1981 Honda Accord. It is not expected to show up in any decent car built after 2000.
I've had the check engine light go on me. Come to think of it, it was a sunny day, but I'd been driving for 2 hours prior. Scared the crap right outta me.
Turns out, it was an air sensor that was going. Thank goodness my Dad was able to diagnose that for me (he's a retired auto-mechanic), and ensure that it wasn't anything overly serious.
Can't have my Dad -- he's busy working on a sailboat, repairing one, that is. Not only that, but he's a good 12hr drive away from you, and you'd have to be dating me and/or related to me, etc....
I know what you mean about cost of repairing stuff, but a warning: usually having Dad repair the car comes with a lecture of some variant of the cost of how much this would have cost. Or something like that. And questions/updates about the car for a long time after.
My Mom has experienced the 'faulty fuel pump' numerous times on their recent VW Passats, to the point where she will not allow Dad to buy said make & model ever again. In fact, they'll be driving my Corolla when I'm finished paying for it....
I love my Dad to bits, and I try to save his talent for when I really need it. If'n you know what I mean....
You are correct, the vast majority of the estimate consisted of labor. The pump itself was much less than 50%. I wish it had been my riding mower. Then the worst thing I could do is just let my grass grow while I put off getting it fixed. My understanding is that usually a mouse is responsible for mower fuel problems, or at least I got that impression from The Secret of NIMH.
The gas cap has been a problem in the past, and my hope was that this would be true this time. I could probe the dealer a little bit to see if they accounted for the possibility. Times are slow and they are probably trying to work out their own stimulus package, you know.
Yes, lots of people are moving to North Carolina, from places like Ohio and Michigan. I do see a lot of posters around town that encourage us to Discover Michigan, so maybe they're hoping to reverse the trend to some extent.
The thought occurred while coming home that there might be fighting between "East Coast" and "West Coast" interests on these things, which might help boost tourism if you play your cards right.
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Turns out, it was an air sensor that was going. Thank goodness my Dad was able to diagnose that for me (he's a retired auto-mechanic), and ensure that it wasn't anything overly serious.
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I wouldn't mind having your dad's talents right now; replacement looks like it is going to cost $$$!
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I know what you mean about cost of repairing stuff, but a warning: usually having Dad repair the car comes with a lecture of some variant of the cost of how much this would have cost. Or something like that. And questions/updates about the car for a long time after.
My Mom has experienced the 'faulty fuel pump' numerous times on their recent VW Passats, to the point where she will not allow Dad to buy said make & model ever again. In fact, they'll be driving my Corolla when I'm finished paying for it....
I love my Dad to bits, and I try to save his talent for when I really need it. If'n you know what I mean....
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My own Dad shared his various "car breaking down" stories with me which left me with the understanding I got off kind of easy this time.
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The gas cap has been a problem in the past, and my hope was that this would be true this time. I could probe the dealer a little bit to see if they accounted for the possibility. Times are slow and they are probably trying to work out their own stimulus package, you know.
Yes, lots of people are moving to North Carolina, from places like Ohio and Michigan. I do see a lot of posters around town that encourage us to Discover Michigan, so maybe they're hoping to reverse the trend to some extent.
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