Bad Timing

Ugh. The Murano broke down. On the day before Christmas Eve. SO ANNOYING. Luckily we didn't have anywhere to go on Christmas Eve so we just stayed at my mom's house the whole time.

We aren't exactly sure what happened to the vehicle, but Travis thinks it might have something to do with a puddle he drove through in the country. I've driven through plenty of puddles in Galveston (notorious for it's flooding), so that can't be the only factor. Maybe the water freezing on the engine so quickly that it didn't have a chance to dry off had something to do with it? Not sure. But the car wouldn't idle when put into park. It just died.

Then today when we went to pick it up to bring it to the dealership (first day they've been open since the fiasco began) it would idle, but accelerating from 0 to 30mph took about half a minute of jerking and lurching to complete. Each intersection we drove through to get to the dealership was agony. I think we were the only car to make it through the light each time. I was grateful when we finally made it to our destination.

This is obviously not a good time to have the car break down on us. We sort of need to get back to Texas in a week. Plus, we've got about a million people to visit prior to then. This is such a pain in the ass.

On the night of Christmas Eve, my mom let us borrow her car to get to my dad's place. We left the Murano in her garage to "thaw out". We stayed at my dad's until 2pm on Christmas Day, when we drove to Travis' mom's house. Today, we returned the loaner to my mom and took the car to the dealership. Travis' step-dad, Rich, picked us up and we all went out to lunch at Papa Del's (the best stuffed pizza I've ever had). It was a nice distraction from the possible insane costs in our future. The guy at the dealership told us that if it is water damage it will not be covered under our warranty.

We got lucky. Our technician is AWESOME and did not mention the possibility of the water damage to the warranty people. It turns out it the mass flow sensor (monitors fuel flow) needed to be replaced, and the problem might not have been related to the puddle at all. Travis and his mom are gone right now. They left to pick up the vehicle and pay the deductible.

I am just amazed that they were able to diagnose and fix the vehicle in ONE DAY. The dealership back home has never been able to master that feat. It's always one day to diagnose, several days to order and receive the part, and another day to repair. I may just have to rub this experience in their face so maybe our dealership will get their butts in gear. Hooray for Josh, the Best Technician Ever!!