(no subject)
We're having an adventure with brakes. As in, my car doesn't have them. I discovered this last night driving home. I'm braking for a stoplight, and I realize the pedal is all the way to the floor, and the brakes are gripping but not very strongly, and while the car is in fact slowing to a stop it's taking a very long time to come to a complete stop.
About halfway home I realize that this feels familiar. It feels like there's no pressure in the system. A slight detour brings me to an Autozone. I check the level of the brake fluid, and it seems to be fine, but I go inside to buy some just in case.
A shoutout to L at Autozone. You rock. You knew what kind of brake fluid my car took off the top of your head. I am particularly amused that you are a woman, and the man who was originally helping me was the one who didn't know this and hadn't finished looking it up on the computer when you came over to help. There are so many stories on Customers_suck, especially in auto parts stores, about assholes who expect the roles to be reversed. But aside from gender politics, you were really helpful at a time when I was completely freaked out. You called the crew at the Valvoline across the street and made sure they were still open, and that started me on a chain of helpful, nice people who are going to get this fixed promptly.
I really do need to send that to Autozone.
So I took the car across the street to Valvoline, and the crew there took a look at it. They popped the hood, and there was some sort of steam coming off the engine. I'd seen a wisp of that at Autozone, but it was much worse. They determined it was brake fluid, and after a little poking around and five people hanging over the engine compartment, they found a bad area in one of the rear brake lines, coming off the master cylinder. I asked them if they fix that here, and they're just an oil change place, so no. I asked them if they knew anybody who could take a look at it tomorrow, and one of the guys said, "I'm writing it down for you."
Those guys rock, too. I need to write two letters now.
I made it home safely, but it was nerve-wracking. Every stop I could smell burning brake fluid more strongly, so the hole is getting worse. We had it towed to a mechanic this morning. Just to make the morning even more special, it wouldn't start at the mechanics, and they had to jump it. We may have a dead battery too. They're going to fix it and check the other hoses and the rest of the brake system, but I won't get it back until Monday.
So, all will be well soon. The unsafe and scary bit is over, and now we're just into the inconvenient bit, with the expensive bit to finish it off.
About halfway home I realize that this feels familiar. It feels like there's no pressure in the system. A slight detour brings me to an Autozone. I check the level of the brake fluid, and it seems to be fine, but I go inside to buy some just in case.
A shoutout to L at Autozone. You rock. You knew what kind of brake fluid my car took off the top of your head. I am particularly amused that you are a woman, and the man who was originally helping me was the one who didn't know this and hadn't finished looking it up on the computer when you came over to help. There are so many stories on Customers_suck, especially in auto parts stores, about assholes who expect the roles to be reversed. But aside from gender politics, you were really helpful at a time when I was completely freaked out. You called the crew at the Valvoline across the street and made sure they were still open, and that started me on a chain of helpful, nice people who are going to get this fixed promptly.
I really do need to send that to Autozone.
So I took the car across the street to Valvoline, and the crew there took a look at it. They popped the hood, and there was some sort of steam coming off the engine. I'd seen a wisp of that at Autozone, but it was much worse. They determined it was brake fluid, and after a little poking around and five people hanging over the engine compartment, they found a bad area in one of the rear brake lines, coming off the master cylinder. I asked them if they fix that here, and they're just an oil change place, so no. I asked them if they knew anybody who could take a look at it tomorrow, and one of the guys said, "I'm writing it down for you."
Those guys rock, too. I need to write two letters now.
I made it home safely, but it was nerve-wracking. Every stop I could smell burning brake fluid more strongly, so the hole is getting worse. We had it towed to a mechanic this morning. Just to make the morning even more special, it wouldn't start at the mechanics, and they had to jump it. We may have a dead battery too. They're going to fix it and check the other hoses and the rest of the brake system, but I won't get it back until Monday.
So, all will be well soon. The unsafe and scary bit is over, and now we're just into the inconvenient bit, with the expensive bit to finish it off.