When you hear an unfamiliar sound in your car, pull over immediately and check it out. This simple lesson would have saved me a lot of time, aggravation, and money over the weekend.
My husband and I were in Santa Clara, California this past weekend, and we brought our dogs to meet our daughter's foster dog, Marty. I wanted to help Marty feel comfortable around other dogs. Marty spent the last few months in a full shoulder to paw cast and he had very few opportunities for socialization.
Having re-homed Welsh Terriers, I have some experience with helping foster dogs. Marty is still on 'crate rest', so, walking with him meant he rode in a stroller while our dog Maisie ambled along next to him.
First they met slowly with both dogs on the ground. Marty, eager to come up for a sniff, approached her with a wagging tail. Maisie is a patient teacher and met him with her head upright and a good sniff. We strolled around a small lake in Los Gatos, allowing both dogs a chance to walk/stroll and interact with each other and other dogs.
When it was time to leave, we loaded all the dogs into our respective cars and planned to meet later that evening for dinner. Little did we know the disaster that was about to unfold.
Here is where that lesson I mentioned at the start comes in to play. As my husband pulled out of the parking lot we heard a strange noise. "What's that sound?" my husband asked me. "It's probably nothing to worry about. And I think I have heard that sound before." I replied.
So out of the parking lot and onto the road we drove waiving at our daughter as she departed for her home. We heard the sound again once or twice before we got on the highway but again dismissed it as something rolling around in the back.
As I chattered on in the passenger seat about the great meeting with the dogs, the beautiful California weather and our dinner plans, my husband looked into the rearview mirror. Swiftly, swerving into the narrow breakdown lane on the left side of the highway, he put the vehicle in park and opened the car door. He quickly departed, saying, "I think the keys just slid off the top of the car and into traffic!"
As I watched him walking along the edge of the passing lane looking for the keys, I phoned our daughter in a panic.
I lost sight of him for an instant and then saw him dart into the lane and bend down. "Oh my God!" I said to her, "Daddy is going to get hit!" After what seemed like an eternity, but was only minutes, he started to walk towards the car again.
Safely inside, he showed me the key ring with all the keys minus the key fob to the car. He then produced the shell of the fob with the all important electrical guts missing. What do we do now?
Provided you do not turn off the car, it will continue to drive until it runs out of gas. So, we located the nearest Toyota dealer and made our way there. It was at the dealer that more lessons started to pop up.
Even when someone else is driving your car bring your drivers license with you.
Makan Ardalani of Stevens Creek Toyota was warm and understanding when my husband entered the service area and told him our story. Sadly he could not help us immediately. Why? I did not have my license with me and it is against the law for a dealer to re-program a car without proper documentation.
Always be kind to service people no matter where you are.
We got back in the car and drove to the Element hotel in San Jose where I dropped off the dogs and retrieved my drivers license. But, I needed a copy of the license and registration before we could return to the dealer. So I went down to the front desk to asked to use the copier.
Here is where the lesson in kindness comes in to play. I asked the gentleman on duty at the hotel if I could get a copy of my documents. "I am sorry, but we do not have a copier for guests of the hotel. I can find a copy store near here for you." he said. At this time I told him our story and said, "This is an emergency can you please help?"
He took one look at my unhappy face and said he would be happy to help me out. I smiled broadly and said, "You, are my hero."
Always test your door locks after major repairs.
Getting back to the dealer, Makan promised to have our car worked on first thing Sunday morning. I love California car culture, where dealers keep the service department open all weekend. This can be a real lifesaver for out of town people like us.
After a lovely night out with our daughter, we woke up to the news that they could not access the inside of the car because the manual key would not unlock the door. We ended up calling AAA to break into the car. We needed to be present for AAA to perform the service, so we threw on clothing, cancelled our breakfast plans and head back to Stevens Creek.
Makan greeted us again with a warm smile and explained that our manual key to unlock the door would not work. I had never used the metal key since the key fob was easier. So, I never learned that during previous body work we had done, the repair shop neglected to reconnect the mechanism to unlock the door manually.
Never drive across the country without your spare key fob.
Having several hours to wait while the work was done, we walked down the street from the dealer to have breakfast at Bill's Cafe (https://www.billscafe.com/locations/#locations). Remember the commercials for Manwich on television? "A sandwich is a sandwich, but a Manwich is a meal." Well, breakfast at Bill's Cafe was a Manwich sized breakfast to keep you full for days.
We walked back to the dealer after breakfast and sat outside reading the news while we waited for information on whether they could fix the door and re-program the key.
My husband has an uncanny ability to identify cars by the sounds of their engines. I, on the other hand can only recognize the sweet sound of my own car's engine coming back to life. Jumping off the bench and shouting "That's my car! It works!", people around me smiled as if looking at a person who just won the lottery.
Happy ending!
As we wrapped up our time with Makan and the team at Stevens Creek Toyota, I gave him a hug and promised to write a glowing review of both he and the service team. While my husband finished paying for our expensive mistake we all shook hands. Looking each other in the eyes we said, "Lesson to self: Never leave keys on the roof of the car."
What a tale of comedy, errors, and patience! It reminds me of a tip I heard on a podcast. Always look behind you, above and around you when you are leaving and going somewhere. You never know what you might have forgotten! 🚙