It Only Hurts When I Pull My Wallet Out

 

I drive a 2007 Toyota Matrix that I bought used in 2013.  Last week the “Check Bank Account” light came on.  I’m fairly good at home repairs, so I decided to see what I could do myself, before I took the car somewhere to be fixed.   I will admit that while I can change filters myself, I know very little about auto repairs.  Usually, when special lights appear (SURPRISE!), or the engine seems to be malfunctioning, I look under the hood for a large loose wire to reattach. Anything else is above my pay grade.

 I bought an Obi-Wan Kenobi Code Reader on Amazon to give me a clue as to why that light appeared.  

When I plugged it into the port under my dash, it read “PO171 System too lean Bank 1.” Huh?  I tried to research that, and all I could find was a reference to the fuel injection system, and the need to take out a second mortgage if I wanted to get it fixed.

I tried to get the car into Big G, but they told me the technician that specializes in this area was booked solid for 2 weeks. Really?  Plan B was to take it to Bob’s Auto Repair, but when I read the Yelp reviews, the first 2 were negative.  Oh come on!

I remembered several do-it-yourself techniques my father used to employ around the house. Maybe one of them would work on the car.

 I attempted the first one, which involves smacking something to make it work again.  As I hit the dash several times I recalled my father slapping the side of our black and white TV in an attempt to improve the reception. 

Neither my father’s efforts or mine resulted in the desired outcome. 

Next, I attached some crumpled aluminum foil to the hood of my car.  Well, it worked (somewhat) to improve reception when my father affixed tin foil to the end of the TV antenna.  No good.

Finally, when all other attempts at fixing the problem myself,  or getting into one of the local garages quickly failed, I resorted to the least desirable option – the dealership.  Yikes!  (cue the scary organ music).

I got online and made an appointment to take it in to Seeger Toyota in Creve Coeur.  I’d been there a few times in the past, mostly for manufacturer recalls that didn’t cost me anything.  I remembered they have a really nice customer lounge, with all sorts of free goodies.

My wife followed me over to Seeger, and we left the car and returned home.  A few hours later the service advisor called and said, “Your thing-a-ma-giggy needs replacing, and we have to perform a whatcha-ma-call-it procedure, which will cost you mucho dinero.”

Well, that’s what I heard.  What he actually said was, “You need a new intake gasket, and fuel induction service, which will cost you mucho dinero.”

I had no choice but to authorize the repair.  I was sorry I didn’t at least go to the customer lounge and eat some of the free treats there.  Later, when we returned and I paid the bill, I was so tempted to sneak into the customer lounge with a couple of Aldi bags, to fill with sweet rolls and granola bars to offset the monumental expenditure I just made.  Oh well, maybe next time.