On Friday morning I loaded the kids up and drove to my sister's house for our weekly play date. After dropping the babies off at her house, I got back in the van to go pick up our lunch. Only, I could not for the life of me crank the van. I put the key in the ignition but could NOT turn it. Here is the sequence of events that took place:
I double checked to make sure the car was in park.
I turned the steering wheel hard to the left and right to try to unlock it.
I repeated this a dozen or more times.
I went inside and asked my sister for help.
She tried the same things with no success.
We called our resourceful, oldest sister. Still no success in starting the van.
Our oldest sister called her husband to see if he had any insight.
We checked under the hood to make sure all wires and such were still connected.
30 minutes had passed, all the while trying to take turns looking after the children and sweating outside in the van.
My sister Googled how to fix a locked steering wheel while I read the owner's manual.
We decided our last resort was to take off the steering wheel and manually turn the steering wheel rod.
She got a screwdriver and began to dismantle the steering wheel.
Nearly an hour passed. I struggled to occupy three infants while keeping two 2 year-olds and a preschooler out of the way.
My sister commented that I don't have a keychain for the kids to play with to lock and unlock the doors. I immediately exclaimed, "Yes I do!"
Embarrassingly, I realized we've been using the wrong keys the entire time. (I keep my Corolla and the Odyssey on separate key chains.)
With the correct key, my sister cranked the car. (Happy now, Katie?)
...
SIGH
With the correct key *I* cranked the car. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes. I earned that for my efforts don't you think? :p
ReplyDeleteCertainly :)
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