Since we bought our Subaru Crosstrek (used) a year and a half ago, it has needed to be jump started at least eight times. The most recent episode required twenty minutes of charging before the car would start. The maintenance guy at our co-op, whose truck was charging our car’s battery and who loves my mom (because they like to chat about gardening and plumbing and all kinds of things I don’t understand), insisted that we take it back to the service center for a diagnosis. Again.
The last time we’d gone to have the car checked, for the same problem, they told us that the car and the battery were fine, and the problem was that we were probably leaving a light on in the car without realizing it, or that we weren’t driving the car frequently enough, so if we were more careful and made sure to start the car at least every other day, the car would be fine.
The next time after that when the car wouldn’t start, we called Triple A, and the service guy told us that what we really needed was a new battery, because the one that came with the car was now too old to hold a charge, and luckily, he could sell us one on the spot. He also told us that we could get a battery charger of our own, so we wouldn’t have to call for help the next time. So, we bought the battery from him, and ordered the car charger online, and hoped for the best.
And, not many weeks later, we had the chance to use the new battery charger, and then again, but then it didn’t work, and we had to have the car charged by our maintenance man at the Co-op.
So, there we were, back at the service center, not feeling especially hopeful and worrying that we would be told there was no real problem, again, or if there was a problem, there would be no solution and we’d have to get another car. But this time, either the service team did a more thorough work up on the car, or the guy who came out to explain the work to us was better at his job, because he actually made sense. He told us that: 1) our new battery was too small for the car, and each time the car had been jump started the battery had worn out even more, so now it was barely able to hold a charge, and 2) all of the electronics in the car were fine, but cars like this, with a lot of computer elements, drain the battery more than older cars and need to be driven at least 20 to 30 miles per week to keep the battery charged (mileage rather than frequency was what mattered, he said).
We asked a lot of questions to make sure we understood the situation, and to make sure he understood that we’d been told something different at the previous visit, and we agreed to buy a new (full-sized) battery, and to put the car on an exercise regimen.
From what I understand now, the reason we’d never had these problems before was: 1) we used to have two people driving the car and therefore it got enough mileage without effort, and 2) our previous cars didn’t have anywhere near as many electronics, and therefore they didn’t wear out the battery as quickly.
I don’t understand why it took a year and a half for someone to tell us all of this, and I’m crossing my fingers that we’re on the right track now, and we won’t need a jump start someday soon, though I’m keeping the charger in the car, just in case.
I’m also thinking I should buy, or make, a special exercise journal for the car, with colored highlighters and happy face stickers, to keep the car on track with its new exercise routine. And I’m wondering if cars require treats for learning new behaviors, like people and dogs do. I mean, not chocolate, or chicken treats, of course, but…something. More importantly, I myself will need some hefty rewards for all of the extra driving I will have to do. Ideally, the car would be able to go out for drives on its own, or maybe there could be a special gym filled with car treadmills that we could send the car to once a week. Because I really hate driving, and even extra chocolate wouldn’t be enough to make me happy about all of this. I may have to plan trips to distant specialty food stores, for more exotic, high value treats, to keep myself on track. But, if this actually works, and I don’t have to jump start for months at a time, it will be worth all of the extra effort. So, here’s hoping this problem is finally behind us. Fingers, paws, and wheels crossed.
If you haven’t had a chance yet, please check out my novel, Yeshiva Girl, on Amazon. And if you feel called to write a review of the book, on Amazon, or anywhere else, I’d be honored.
Yeshiva Girl is about a Jewish teenager on Long Island, named Isabel, though her father calls her Jezebel. Her father has been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with one of his students, which he denies, but Izzy implicitly believes it’s true. As a result of his problems, her father sends her to a co-ed Orthodox yeshiva for tenth grade, out of the blue, and Izzy and her mother can’t figure out how to prevent it. At Yeshiva, though, Izzy finds that religious people are much more complicated than she had expected. Some, like her father, may use religion as a place to hide, but others search for and find comfort, and community, and even enlightenment. The question is, what will Izzy find?
rachelmankowitz 