Tonight, we are staying in a hotel in Kansas City that we were supposed to stay in last night, until our alternator quit - intermittently, apparently. The hotel kindly adjusted our reservation in spite of the 'nonrefundable', 'nonchangeable' nature of the reservation. But that was not the first little kindness that we had been shown yesterday.
We left Chattanooga (after a kind friend made us an early breakfast!) intent on making it 10+ hours to KC yesterday. A few miles outside the little-known town of Monteagle, TN - one hour from our starting point, 9 from our destination - the red battery light came on. We stopped and were helped with an urgent and quick battery change and alternator test by the professionals at Monteagle Tire and Auto Service. Auto shops appear to have an extra gear when helping stranded travelers. We were on our way again.
Two-plus hours later, having escaped a strange cluster of traffic in Nashville, as we approached Pleasant View, TN, the crimson light reappeared. Once again, we made an urgent pitstop at an autoshop, Auto Service of Pleasant View. Here the mechanic again checked things out and recommended that we go on to the dealership where they could better identify our exact problem and should have the parts to fix it. He was not only quick and thorough, but he was also willing to get soaked in a cloudburst, and he would not accept payment for his time. More kindness.
The dealership was about 20 miles away, and the mechanic believed we would make it but gave some instructions in case we couldn't. These gave me a sense of what to expect 'in case of emergency.' Unfortunately, that 'sense' was needed. About 5 miles farther along, the Pilot started choking to death. Thankfully an exit appeared right ahead, and so I headed for it slowly. The exit appeared to exist solely for the sake of an empty road, an abandoned gas station, and an extant gas station. We choked our way to the extant gas station, parked, and shut off the vehicle. Then it was time to ponder. As I normally do with any vehicle problems, I called my dad. He advised that getting a new battery might be cheaper than getting a tow. But the gas station lacked new batteries.
However, as I came out of the door, I saw a tow truck idling by the road in the gas station parking lot. Lest it escape, I jogged over and started asking questions to the driver. (Typically, I refrain from random jogging in public and from talking to strangers, even when in distress; however, this seemed like a perfect time for exceptions.)
Since he was already there, the driver arranged with dispatch to get us to the dealership for about a quarter of what I expected to be charged for a tow ($60!), saving us not only money but also time. He loaded up the Pilot, and we all piled into the passenger side of his cab, and we were off.
At the Honda dealership, the outlook was bleak... "It'll be a while till they can do the 1-2 hour check of the battery, alternator, and starter." "We'll call you eventually." "We may not even have that part in stock; and if we don't, it could be a day or two." Oh, and it's still rainy.
However, since they were also trying to sell new vehicles in this location, there were amenities. A playground for children... a coffee and cocoa dispenser... clean restrooms... comfy chairs... and a kids movie playing in a nearly-soundproof glass room. So, while the diagnosis took several hours to be given, our physical distress was quite minimal - basically involving trying not to get wet on the playground.
Anyways, the diagnosis was rather pricey; the alternator failed; the BRAND NEW battery failed (!?!?!); some gasket-y thing should be replaced since it probably leaked onto the alternator and caused the failure. On the up side, the next new battery would include a ten-year warranty... but I'm selling the vehicle to a friend in 2 weeks. So we compromised. The gasket-y thing would have to wait till Denver. They were authorized to change the other two, but that wouldn't start till today. However, they start work at 7AM, so before 8AM, I'd gotten a call that all was now well.
When I went to pick it up, I found out that they had also tried recharging the battery. It was okay after all. So, no ten-year warranty, and the price was better. Saga/adventure over.
We let the kids swim a bit longer in the hotel pool, and we headed out, arriving in KC a day late but thankful to be here.
Points of thanks to the Lord:
- We didn't break down on the highway itself!
- A tow truck was waiting for us at the gas station we made it to. (The driver said we were lucky some lady needed to be pulled out of a ditch near there.)
- The parts were available.
- The supposedly dead battery came back to life.
- The hotel rescheduling our reservation so easily.
BONUS: The Honda dealership shuttled us to and from the hotel we stayed at last night. When I got into the car this morning, it started acting up. The driver told me that it had worked perfectly until I got in and that I might consider myself a 'black cat'. We barely made it back to the dealership with the shuttle car's engine light on and it coughing and spluttering along at less than 15 mph.
Random observation: Upon learning of our situation, three different people mentioned 'hotel with a pool'. Apparently, there is a well-recognized truth that 'when traveling with children, a pool can rectify nearly any situation.'
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