Heat Waves, Driving in the Desert, and More Repair Whack-a-Mole
It turns out that steel rebar is Cringe for Cars
Hello, Wednesday the Eleventh of September of the Year 2024. Here let us start with a lovely photo from last night’s twilight as seen from my hotel’s window.
Today, I shall wrap all my Essay, RV Life, and Photos all rolled into one. No, this is not some patriotic reflection on... No, not 9/11 - instead let's talk about Automobiles, Heat Waves while Driving through the Desert, and Rodents! Plus photos!
First off, I have noticed an uptick in the use of the word “Cringe” in the last month - mostly by men when talking or writing about emotionally uncomfortable situations that they don’t want to elucidate but want to make a reference to or ironically joke about.
When I see a word or phrase being used much more frequently all of the sudden I wonder in what TV show or Meme did it get introduced in recently that caught the current zeitgeist and thus comes into use far more often?
I missed the cultural start of the current use of Cringe this summer. Can someone here give me the show or meme reference that launched it as the Word of the Summer?
Last Friday started like many days, I got up, I walked the dog, I drank some tea, I prepped the RV to roll out of the campground - secured everything, brought in the slide out, and drove off to find a place to release the waters legally. After a whole interaction with the local bees who like to suck sewer water at the Lower Rock Creek RV dump station, I drove the RV down to park it in my Mom's yard while I escorted my Dad to Southern California for the weekend.
All was well, until I drove the RV halfway down my Mom's crushed gravel driveway. She waved at me to stop while she moved her car and my Dad moved my Prius so I could put my RV into its storage space. The first move was done rapidly and with decisive action. My dad was more reluctant, he drove the Prius forward and stopped at the lawn, he got out and yelled at us "Don't argue with me!"
Neither of us did. I let him do whatever he needed to do. I waited. Then I parked the RV. My Mom waved me into the house and dragged me into her walk in closet to have a whole conversation about her friend __'s son ___'s car breaking down in the desert the weekend before. It was odd. I went back outside to find my Dad had parked my car next to the RV and had laid out a fluffy blanket in front of the front bumper which was half on and half off, as well as a bit mangled.
Next to him, he had a box that said in big letters "750 Pieces", he opened it, it had 3 tiers like fishing tackle box and it was full of little pegs, gromets, fasteners and other black plastic bits to reattach plastic car parts to the car - like a bumper.
Me, in a full Stoicism mode: "Where did you get that kit?"
Dad, now laying on the blanket looking under the bumper: "You know me, I am helpless in the face of Amazon's suggestions."
Me:....
Dad: grumbles and some swears...
I walked away to allow him to reattach the bumper without an audience. I finish hooking up the RV when I remembered that my Dad had my Prius Prime (plug-in hybrid) backed into the RV space.
Please hear, as you read this, the Jaws movie music when people are swimming before they DIE plus some foreshadowing dun-dun-DUN...
He eventually reattaches the bumper, of which was ripped off due to a piece of steel rebar sticking up out of a wooden railroad tie that was lining the driveway (don't ask). We depart so I can drive him in my Prius 350 miles south to drop him off to pick up another car.
Halfway through the Mojave Desert during a 109F / 43C heat wave, my car's dashboard screen throws the above "Hybrid System Malfunction Visit Your Dealer" and I have to pull over to the side of the road to turn the car off and on again, as one does with any computer malfunction. Then I force the car into turning off the EV assist and into gas engine only mode.
My Dad who had up to this point had spent the previous 20 minutes discussing at length how Ultra High Voltage Electricity transmission lines and towers should not be placed so close to the highway (they were about 100 ft/30 meters to the west of the road), as what would happen if one of the live lines came down in a storm or wind and hit a car. He went on in great detail to talk about various experiences in his career as an electrician with high voltage, how to protect yourself, and not DIE.
Please note for the record, if you are in your car and your car is struck by lightning or a downed electricity wire of any voltage my Dad would like you to pull all your limbs into your body on the car seat until the electric event is over. Do not touch anything in the car, esp. not any metal or the car frame or doors.
After I pulled over, mind you on the west side near the High Voltage lines, turned the car off and on again, forced it into gas only mode, my Dad noticed we were no longer driving.
"Why did you stop?"
Me, still deeply in Stoic mode, points to the dashboard screen warning.
Dad, "Oh."
Then he continues to talk about death by High Voltage. My father is not an AC/DC fan, so this was not a wry joke.
As I drive my Prius back onto the highway, I instruct my Dad to open Google and search the exact words of the Hybrid Malfunction Warning plus Prius Prime 2019 to find out if we will die by EV lithium battery fire before we reach any form of auto mechanic. He self soothes by eating truck stop Cinnabon and reading to me what the wits on the Prius Chat forum have to say about our situation.
At least there was no more discussion about death by High Voltage downed wires, though we had another two hours of driving in 109F / 43C with the air conditioning blasting to cool down the EV battery and we made it into Yorba Linda safe and sound.
I will not detail out all that has now occurred in the five full days since last Friday, but it suffices to say that I didn't depart to return to the Eastern Sierra two days later on Sunday. I am still here in SoCal waiting for a new Toyota OEM EV Coolant Pump to arrive and be installed before I drive back north through the Mojave Desert.
It turns out that the Prime's EV Coolant Pump is located right next to the section of the front bumper that met the steel rebar sticking out of the decorative garden railroad tie. Coolant Pumps apparently don't like being struck with, stuck on, or pulled off of steel rebar. Funny that.
I would really really really like this summer of surprise auto and RV repair whack-a-mole to be over.
Can I return to last September's amusing Bougie Chipmunks filling my Prius' cabin and engine air filter's with pine nuts? That was easy and cheap to fix, plus a good laugh. Though I did feel bad for the little chipmunk who lost part of their winter food storage...
Finally, given the heat wave of the past week started several very large and very bad fires in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and Santa Ana Mountains, please pray or dance for rain for California. We need it.
Thanks for reading. Please share and subscribe!
Jenifer Hanen, aka Ms. Jen