As true today as it was in 1950. Don’t be like Mr. Wheeler. Drive safe!
C5 Accident
Passed by the scene of an accident along C5 this morning. I was heading southbound after a visit to Big Bert’s when I noticed the northbound was empty. I thought it was either an accident or road repair. It turned out to be the former when I saw what seemed to be an AUV or SUV on its side. I later learned that it was a Mitsubishi Fuzion. It was southbound when it swerved, hit a lamppost, and got thrown into the northbound side where a taxi and a motorcycle then collided into it. Unfortunately, the taxi driver and passenger died. The Fuzion driver and motorcyclist were seriously injured. Could be driver error but after some digging, I found out that a few months back, there was a recall of Fuzions because of potential steering failure. Could that be the cause? Quite possible. If you have a Fuzion, better get it to the shop if you haven’t already. Drive safe!
Engine and Air Cooling Systems Fixes
Just before Holy Week, the car overheated because the radiator fan wasn’t automatically activating. The aircon also died. My theory was that the overheat resulted in the refrigerant to go hot, over pressured, and got vented out by some pressure relief valve. I direct-connected the radiator fan so that it’s always on. Not a long-term solution as this will shorten the life of the fans. I also made do without air conditioning. Or rather Michelle did.
Today, I visited Fusion R and they confirmed that the radiator fan wasn’t working properly because the radiator fan temperature switch connector was loose due to a broken clip. They tried looking for a replacement but couldn’t find any. So what they did was remove the old temperature sensor and connector and replaced them with ones from a Subaru. Total cost P3000 for the Subaru stuff and labor. Ouch! At least the car has a little bit of Subaru genes now :P
But it wasn’t over yet. Next, I went to the aircon shop. They said everything seems okay, there are no visible signs of a leak. So they’ll just recharge the refrigerant and observe if there’s a leak. Bad decision. In just a few minutes the refrigerant was gone again. There was definitely a leak.
They pulled down the evaporator and the pipings to look for it and sure enough there was a huge one in the piping near the radiator. The radiator had somehow sawed a hole on it. They brazed the leak shut, reinstalled everything, and recharged again. Total cost P950 for the initial recharge and P2650 for the pulldown and repair. Ouch again!
It became clear what happened: The radiator abraded the aircon piping until it finally blew venting out refrigerant. The aircon system detected the low level of refrigerant and shut down as a failsafe. This means the radiator fan and auxiliary fan didn’t spin as they usually do when the aircon switch is on. Since the radiator temp switch wasn’t working properly, the radiator fan didn’t turn on and the engine overheated.
Ignition Coil Problem and Others
Michelle asked me to get the car checked as the vibrations were getting worse. I’ve previously ruled out the engine as the source of the vibration. I know that it’s because of the rubber hood stoppers (or the lack of) and the radiator fan. But I also needed to have the engine oil pan resealed due to a leak. Plus it’s due time for an engine oil change.
Deciding to do everything one time, I headed to my favorite Shell quick lube shop. Unfortunately, when I got there, I learned that they don’t do oil pan resealing. Since resealing requires the removal of the engine oil, it makes sense to do the resealing and the oil change together. So I headed out, this time towards Fusion R, my favorite car repair shop.
On the way, I kept watch for an auto supply shop where I can by rubber hood stoppers. I found one that had an available parking. I turned in, parked, and bought two stoppers for P75 each. The staff was helpful and they even installed them. No more hood vibrations!
I got back in the car and started the engine. Engine won’t crank. Thinking it’s the upward inclination of the parking, I neutraled down and tried starting again. Still won’t. I asked for the help of the staff and they pushed the car up the incline and back to where I was just a minute before.
The shop owner came out, later followed by the mechanic, and they diagnosed the problem to be the ignition coil. They replaced it. They also noticed the radiator fan problem and diagnosed it to be the motor. Since I knew that it has a problem already, I agreed and they replaced it too. Since I was there, I also had my oil change. My bill quickly ran up to P5,270. Ouch! But there certainly was a huge improvement in the noise and vibration levels.
Forgot about the oil pan resealing.
2013 Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai has posted teasers of the upcoming 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. I personally prefer sedans over SUVs. Sedans offer better handling and more practicality for the daily commute. But SUVs sure can be useful for hauling people and gear around. And looking good while doing that sure doesn’t hurt. The 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe certainly looks good enough for me to possibly consider. Maybe if and when baby #2 comes around. And if Hyundai gets its act together by then.
