Car died on the side of the road...
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
June 22, 2009 4:46pm CST
When was the last time that happened to you?
I had some errands to run today. So far as I know my car doesn't have any serious problems, and it's never really given me any big problems before.
I'd just left the bank, drove down to the corner, and it started sputtering. I knew I was low on gas, but my gas gauge is all messed up and it was saying I had an 8th of a tank. When it started sputtering I figured the gas gauge was wrong and I was actually out of gas... that hasn't happened to me in over 10 years!!
I was right next to a KFC so I was trying to get into their parking lot before the car totally died, but the gas pedal wouldn't work. The car was still running, but it wouldn't go anywhere when I stepped on the gas.
So I turned it off, and sat there on the side of the road trying to figure out what to do.
I don't own a cell phone...and for once I wished I did.
After awhile a man pulled over and helped me get it in KFC's driveway, but we couldn't push it further as there was an incline and he'd already dented the back of my van... yikes! I used his phone and called my husband who only works right down the road from where I was.
Hubby showed up with gas, but the car still wouldn't start. Hubby went to get more gas, still it wouldn't start.
Eventually he used his car to push mine into a parking spot, and I dropped him off at work and took his car home.
As of right now my car is still in the KFC parking lot. Hubby and one of his co-workers will go back and check on mine later and see if they can get it started.
Hubby said those words you don't want to hear in a situation like this "Can things get any worse?" They did... I stepped in gum!!
5 people like this
14 responses
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
23 Jun 09
That sux! I hope you got it started or atleast the repair wasn't too costly.
My hubby had a lil situation in the parking lot @ his work the other week. His "new to us" truck wouldn't start. So he thought WTH? Putzed with the battery connection, had a co-worker try to jump him ect. Eventually after disconnecting the battery and waiting a few minutes it re-started w/o any problem & has been ok. The weird part is it's after the dealearships 90 day warranty on used was up... go figure right?!?
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jun 09
We're getting my car towed right now... still not sure what is wrong with it. What a headache this is!
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
23 Jun 09
It never rains but it poors..... I hope you manage to get what ever the issue with it fixed at a minimal cost and quickly as well.
I've never ran out of gas, touch wood, but I have had my brakes fail whilst hurtling towards a round about. I have never been more scared in my life as there was nothing I could do to slow the car down without causing an accident. Thankfully the round about was clear and I managed to get round it and down a quite side road where my car slowly crept to a halt. Ended up that one of my brake pipes had got a leak and cost a pretty penny to fix, but I was more glad that I hadn't been in an accident than the actual cost.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Oh that's scary! Glad everything turned out okay. I've had bad brakes before too. I did cause an accident once, but I didn't even realize my brakes were bad until someone else drove my car home... it was my first car!
1 person likes this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
22 Jun 09
That hasn't happened to me in years. Sorry it happened to you today.
The one time it did happen to me, I found out that just putting a little gas doesn't work on the newer cars (this was a number of years ago, and the car was a '94 I believe, so I'm assuming anything that year or newer would be same thing).
I put a gallon or so of gas in it. Nothing. Put another two gallons in. Nothing.
Someone told me that it needed even more gas than that, so I put in another 2-3 gallons at least and it finally started. I guess when it totally runs dry it needs a good drink to get it going again.
Hope you figure it out.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
22 Jun 09
The last time I had a car run out of gas, I believe the car was an 88!
My husband did say something along the lines, that it would need more gas due to being fuel injected type of car. We just couldn't mess around with it anymore as my young kids were about to be home from school. I only just made it home 5 minutes before they did!
He'll figure it out, I'm sure.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
22 Jun 09
That was it! EFI - electronic fuel injection.
If it was due to running out of gas, I'm sure adding more in the morning will do the trick. Good luck!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jun 09
He thinks the fuel pump is shot now... some mechanic told him that on that type of van if you mess with it too much you can fry the fuel pump somehow... arg!! He did add a 3rd gallon of gas and still nothing, but the mechanic said 3 gallons should be more than enough.
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
23 Jun 09
That really sucks! I broke down a number of years ago and luckily I was driving with my brother, the tie rod broke and my brother is like MacGyver and "fixed" it enough to drive it home. A plus for me is all of our land around here is flat so no inclines lol Good luck I hope your car gets fixed soon
1 person likes this
@DarthJustice (2014)
• United States
23 Jun 09
A similar situation happened to me last June. I was driving to a local park to walk around the track that morning. The way I was going is pretty out of the way from town. In the area I live and that particular area, it's mostly countryside. About the only thing there is where I was when this happened are just a few apartments and a house.
At any rate, I was getting close to where I turn to go to the park when my CD player stopped working. I thought maybe it had just messed up or my CD just wouldn't play or something. But I soon saw that the radio wouldn't come on at all.
It was shortly after that I discovered the whole car had turned off and I was just rolling idly down the (fortunately) otherwise empty road. The fact that no one else was around was also an unfortunate thing though once the car actually stopped. I was able to roll safely to the side of the road in front of the house I mentioned.
I knocked on the home's door but no one answered (even though a car was there). Unfortunately, I was about four miles from home and didn't find out my phone was out of power until it was too late. So I just ended up hiking to the park towards a friend's house until I got help from a park worker who took me home. Fortunately that night I was able to get it home.
1 person likes this
@meandmy3 (2227)
• United States
22 Jun 09
Not in a very long time and it is a huge fear of mine, my fear is it will happen with the kids with me. As my car, van, is not getting any younger we try to always keep up the maintenance on it, but you never know what is going to happen once you get as many miles on one as I do, we are about to cross the 100,000 mile mark. I refuse to get a new car till my kids are out of car seats.
With some of the newer cars when you run out of gas you actually have to put gas in the catalytic converter to get it to start (at least that is what I think it is called) I hope it is nothing serious.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
22 Jun 09
He looked under the hood for something to put the gas in like they used to have on old cars... can't find it. His buddy knows more about cars, so hopefully between the 2 of them, they'll get it started before he has to come home. I don't want to drag all the kids out to pick him up from work, and I certainly don't want my van sitting at KFC all night!
@meandmy3 (2227)
• United States
22 Jun 09
I can understand that. If for some reason you have to leave it you may want to speak with the management team at KFC, as they could call the cops and have it ticketed if it sits there too long. I had that happen to a close friend recently. With everything you have going on already that would just be the icing on the cake so to speak..
Again Good Luck
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Apparently the van is sitting at KFC overnight and being towed tomorrow. He can't get it started and he's been calling some mechanics he knows and they think the fuel pump is fried from letting the gas run out... I guess the gas works as a coolant for the fuel pump...I don't know. I'm stressed! All the kids are asleep, and I have to go pick him up from work now! Yay me!
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
23 Jun 09
That sucks so I wish you some luck to help send all the bad vibes away..lol, and gum..should be a law against discarding it improperly..I hate stepping in gum especially when it is hot and melting like..Hope that your car gets fixed and that it is a simple,cheap,easy to fix problem.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jun 09
We think it's the fuel injector. Going to get it towed today.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
22 Jun 09
Buggers! Must have been a bad monday all the way around. My air in my house quit and it was 93 today. Called and they came to fix it and it took over 4 hours! I can just imagine what that bill will be....maybe tomorrow will be a better day...I am happy though that he did finally get it fixed!
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
23 Jun 09
I lived in on of those little trailers too a long time ago so I know what you are talking about....used to make a ton of ice cubes and put a big pan of them in front of a fan and put the kids in front of it....or sometimes when it was really bad I took them someplace air conditioned so they could cool off....
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jun 09
We didn't have A/C in our last house either, and that was just as bad because all the windows faced the sun. We would either be in the yard playing with the hose (didn't have a pool) or we'd go walk the mall to cool off, or just drive in the car with the a/c on.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
22 Jun 09
I can't imagine what that's like... having the air die... I don't have air! It gets nasty in this little trailer, they're horrible for holding heat! I think it was in the mid- ninties inside yesterday, even though it was only 70 outside. Forget about cooking or doing laundry at all in the summer.
And in the winter it's colder inside than it is outside, even with the heat on!
@schulzie (4061)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Gosh, that just sounds awful. It sounds like the kind of day I would have. Just hang in there. I know it is awful right now but it will get better. I hope the problem is only gas and not something with the fuel injector or something else expensive.
Sorry about you stepping in the gum too. Things will be better.
Have a great day and happy myLotting!!!
Sorry about you stepping in the gum too. Things will be better.
Have a great day and happy myLotting!!!
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
22 Jun 09
One of the things I hate the most about motor vehicles of any kind is that they don't warn you that something is about to break or die on you. The last thing to happen to me was that the power window on the driver's side refused to go up...in fact, the button for the other window didn't work and neither did the lock button. My husband had to take the door panel off and he finally found where the wire was pinched where it went from the door's frame through a hole. Naturally he blamed me. He said I slam the door too hard. It's a truck...and I'm a girl...how hard could I possibly be slamming the door and what kind of sissy truck is it if that's the case? 
I hope it turns out to be something minor.
I hope it turns out to be something minor.
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
22 Jun 09
Mine decided to splutter to a halt less than 48hours after I'd spent £300 getting it through the MOT test. I had to let her go because she was gonna cost more than she was worth to get her running again. I had my moneys worth tho because I'd driven it for 14years ... & I won it in a competition.
Last time I had to call recovery was when a taxi drove into the back of me around 18months ago... he turned out to be uninsured.
I hope your car makes a full (and inexpensive) recovery!!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
22 Jun 09
I'm confident I'm just out of gas and probably need more than 2 gallons to get moving again. We had gotten it to start.. it just wouldn't stay that way for long!
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
23 Jun 09
What a drama! I am so sorry that you had to go through all of this. So glad that you got the car home though. Hopefullly by now the problem has been identified and dealt with. Has this ever happend to me? Over the years more times thatn I could tell you. The last time in happend I was staying a few days in another part of the Island.l I usually go there once a year and this time I inisted that my son both drop me and collect me. I said to him that I don't know why but I need to have yo with me . Sure enough we broke down on the highway. Some kind of belt on the car. So he was able to call emergency services to get us off the highway to a garage. And then the garage did not have the part and it was a Sunday and so many places were closed. In the end we called Rachel's fiance to come and take me home whilst my son stayed with my car. This was such a drama and I am so happy that I ws obedient to my intuition and insited that he drop me and pick me up to take me home. I would have had to stay in that car for hours and hours alone!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
23 Jun 09
It hasn't been dealt with yet. We only just got it towed to the garage a few hours ago. I haven't heard from my husband since then, so I don't even know where my car is. He was going to tow it to our usual guy who wouldn't be able to look at it for a few days, but then he was going to stop at a different garage and see what they said, if they could get it sooner. Like I said, I haven't heard back from him yet.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
23 Jun 09
I know that this may seem hard to believe but this too will pass. You will get through this patch of things being difficult. Many blessings
@desteny114 (886)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Hi katsmeow my car actually brake down on me last night around 11pm right after putting gas the head lights starter simed a little less bright and then it turned off. My husband and his brother were "fixing" the moter and they also put some kind of conecction for the fan straight from the battery. The good thing is that my neighbor was awake and he when to pick us up with his van. I guess that's what made the car turn off and now it just standing in the back of the yard like it has for over a month. I hope that he fixes it soon because I'm tired of askeing for rides all the time and since I take my baby every were I go and its to hot to be wainting for the bus. Put its really hard to know when the car might be fixed since my husband those not know mutch about how to fix a car. And the worst part was that had my baby with me and he was sleeping and I had to get of the car with my baby in my arms because the car was right next to a stop and there was cars passing really close to the car. He is around 27 pounds and I had to have him in my arms for 20 minutes until my neighbur picked us up.
@jules2653 (74)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Oh that's horrible. I have experienced it a couple of times due to a flat tire. It's hard to sit there so helpless. You don't know if some crazy person is going to pull over.
