My car is pushing ten years old. I've had problems with the doors for at least six of those years.
I drive out to my mom and dad's every Sunday and they live on a dusty gravel road. The dust gets up inside the guts of the door and gums everything up.
At one point one of the back doors could not be unlocked. It didn't get used for a couple of years, until I either figured out how to tear it apart or someone helped me.
The last few years the issue has been a little different. Sometimes when you open the door the handle stays flipped up. Then the door doesn't latch. Since it's become second nature to me to flip the handle down as I'm opening the door, I rarely think of it.
People who aren't used to my car sometimes get a little pissed off though. It's almost like a comedy routine watching them slam the door, progressively harder and harder. Which just makes it bounce back open a little more forcefully.
Then I take pity and get out of the car, run around and close the door for them.
One door in particular, the rear passenger door, likes to be tricky at random times. Sometimes even when the handle is flipped down.
This Sunday we went to my parents for dinner as usual. Me and Louie - the dog. The Asshats think they're too old for dinner at Gramma's right now, but Louie loves his Gramma. Just try leaving him at home - he'll pout for a week.
I have really cute video on my phone of him crying and running around the car on the way to Gramma's. Some day I might even figure out how to get it off my phone and on my computer so that I can force all of you to ooh and ahh over how damn cute my dog is.
Tonight's dinner was turkey. The smell of turkey cooking is a guaranteed four footed frenzy. Once the dogs all had their dinner - kibble with turkey bit toppings - and the dishes were done it was time to head home. I let the dog in the rear passenger door.
My parents live on a curvy road. Want to guess what happened on the first left bend? The rear passenger door flew open. Which woke the dog up from his turkey induced nap in short order, and leaped into the front seat.
I really need to do something about those doors.
You REALLY need to do something about those doors...like maybe use them as an excuse to light the car on fire and collect the insurance to get a new car. That handle thing is maddening! And I'm just reading about it and not an unsuspecting passenger losing my mind trying to close an unclosable door.
ReplyDeleteIt can be maddening if you don't know the trick. Thanks to a new emissions test coming out this year, it's probably my last year driving it.
DeleteMy 12 year old mini van has a broken automatic lock on the passenger side sliding door, thanks to a boy who couldn't wait for the automatic locks to activate and yanked it up manually until manually is all there is. When someone forgets to manually lock the door after getting out of the car and slamming the door shut, I reach over with a piece of broken ballet barre (tornado memento) and whack it down. Hey, cheaper than getting it fixed!
ReplyDeleteBefore this car I had a mini-van. The driver's side door handle was broken on the outside so I used to just climb in the sliding door. It sure beat the $160 it would have cost to fix.
DeleteThe latch on my driver door freezes up when it is SUPER cold outside. I can get in the car, but it will not latch to close again. I just hold it shut while I drive, which really sucks because of how cold it is. Eventually, the heat of the car causes it to start working again and I can latch it.
ReplyDeleteAll of mine will freeze - the trunk too. I've learned the hard way to not attempt opening anything unless I'm willing to be persistent. There is nothing quite like driving down the road and having your trunk suddenly spring open because it thawed.
DeleteOkay, you just wrote about one of my worst fears, car doors flying open. Even if the doors are locked, I still fear that the door will fly open and my flailing body will hit the tarmac, go rolling across the road, before coming to a stop...and then being hit by a truck.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing you're a firm believer in seat belts.
DeleteGosh that has got to be frustrating. Poor pooch, can't be fun to be startled awake by a door flying open. Would love to see the video of your dog dancing around excited to see Gramma. I love dogs. We have two Scotties.
ReplyDeleteHe goes nuts. If I were to let him out of the car he would run all the way there.
DeletePhew, I thought the dog fell out!
ReplyDeleteI was driving pretty slow so he was fine. Nervous after, but fine.
DeleteHeh! Gotta keep 'em on their toes!
ReplyDeleteHe was on his toes alright - with his toenails dug in for dear life I'm sure.
DeleteHa! I had a beater when I got engaged to my husband. It was one of those cars I just couldn't seem to get rid of. Every time something happened to it and I thought, "I CAN FINALLY FEEL JUSTIFIED IN GETTING A NEW ONE!", she rallied and I was stuck with her. Again.
ReplyDeleteAbout 2 months before our wedding, that car was on it's last legs. The a/c didn't work. The shocks were completely gone. It needed some body work. It has self-changing oil. You get the idea. The Hubs drove a beautiful sports car, and I was so happy to ditch my car and learn to drive stick shift so I could take his car for a spin.
And then my Dad offered to repair all of the quirks of my car as a wedding present.
And my husband said, "that would be awesome!"
Fortunately, I convinced both of them it was time to let that piece of junk go. Sadly, I couldn't learn to drive stick with such a powerful engine, and we traded that orange sports car in for a sensible sedan. :)
Repairing vehicles is like remodeling your house. Sooner or later, you're ready to say enough, time for something new.
DeleteAt least he didn't fall out of the car....
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I was driving pretty slow, but still.
DeleteI love that your dog loves to go to grandmas! LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteMy car is 13 years old and it...has it's ways. (and it's own smells, but that's another matter) You've got to get that door fixed! (and I never say that about old cars, which is why my clock, window roll down mechanism, and automatic door opener don't work.) :)
Oh yeah - Louie loves, loves, loves his gramma.
DeleteI prefer to not discuss the particular aroma of my car either.
When it gets really cold, my doors will freeze shut. Of course they only do this when I have to go to work. Yeah, I crawled into the car from the trunk once. It wasn't pretty.
ReplyDelete