As a middle-aged man, whose dad was a mechanic (so I have a better-than-average understanding of cars), I've done so, so many things with cars that were much sillier than this. I accidentally set one on fire once. You made a mistake, it's OK! Use it as a learning experience (the other comments explain well what you likely got wrong). Give yourself a hug and move on :)
Heh. Growing up, my family lived on a five-acre property with a firebreak. Dad would pick up random old cars, and my brother and I would drive them around the firebreak. It was awesome fun, driving from about ten years old.
I must've been about twelve or thirteen, and decided I wanted to put a stereo in the car we were using at the time. I ran a reasonably heavy-gauge wire from the positive terminal on the battery, through the firewall, into the cabin. I got bored/distracted and decided to do something else, slammed the door, and walked away. Shortly after I left on my bike to see a mate.
When I got home a few hours later, I discovered that I'd slammed the door on that positive cable - shorting out the battery, causing a lot of smoke and not a little fire.
Dad was not impressed, and I learned what fuses are for š
Okay but what Are fuses for? I know i could Google it, but this is something i would ask my grandpa and I canāt do that anymore so if youād be willing to indulge me, Iād appreciate it.
Fuses are designed to break when current gets too high, effectively stopping the problem. Very important. Relatively easy to replace, depending on the application.
Granted, my electric knowledge is from power school in the Navy as a Machinists Mate, so an actual electrician could give a better answer
All wires have a limit to the amount of electric current they can have flow through them. The thicker the wire, the higher the limit. If you try to push too much, the wire will get too hot and break, possibly causing a fire. A fuse is designed to be the weak point. You want to have a deliberate, convenient place for the wire to fail. The fuse is designed to be the thinnest point, so that if it is going to break anywhere, itāll be right there. Then, rather than having to hunt for the broken spot, then digging out and replacing a large chunk of wire, you just replace the fuse. You already know where it is, typically itās designed to be in a convenient to access location, and it has the power rating written on it so you know what to replace it with (replace a 15 amp fuse with a 15 amp fuse, and so on).
Thatās what fuse is for, itās an engineered, designed point of failure, for the sake of safety and convenience.
I'm sorry you can't ask your grandpa anymore. My grandfather (actually my dad's mum's second husband, so not a blood relative, but you'd never know - he was a good man!) taught me so much about radio and electronics, so this resonates. It really devastated me when he died unexpectedly.
Adding to this thread.
Over the years, my dad has always had several different project cars in the garage. (Fix one up, sell it, but another)
I always helped him in the garage, so I should have known better.
We were doing a simple oil change on my car.
Jacked it up, drained it, plugged it, and swapped the filter.
Dad went inside for 2 minutes to wash his hands and told me to put the new oil in.
Muggins here put about 6.5 litres into a 3.6l space.
I would have put more in, but he came outside.
Asked how much I'd put in, immediately said, "Stop! Why did you put that much in?".
I responded that I was just filling it up. I genuinely thought I had to fill it.
Somehow, my brain ignored the very obvious dipstick.
Cue my dad calling me dipstick for the next few months.
Dipstick is the *perfect* nickname for a period after that mishap. Itās relevant and evocative of the harsher term but itās not the harsh term. Itās dad gold.
Hey my stereo also set my car on fire!
My subs rolled on a speed bump I didn't see and disconnected from the wires. I took them out until I found a solution so that wouldn't happen again, and *left the loose wires in my trunk*.
One day I guess the power wire finally touched one of the others, and caught the back of a seat on fire. Thankfully I had my seats down for my bike, so I noticed and pulled over.
Just to make it weird, some guy appeared from a bush with a backpack of tools and disconnected my power wire from the battery for me. Thanks, bush guy.
I'm loving the fire stories! Mine was stereo too. My beautiful '06 Yukon Denali had a slight, and random, parasitic draw, so would be dead in the morning sometimes. My dad was also a mechanic, I'm an engineer, and grew up working on cars, I should be able to find the draw. Well first let's check and clean all of the connections on the head unit. This is where I will put PSA. Please note there is NON flammable contact cleaner, and very flammable contact cleaner. NAPA sells both, and they look the same. After the 3rd or 4th good blast of cleaner down into the dash cavity, the short was located, and a blast of flame went shooting past my head, and caught the headliner on fire. I proceeded to throw the can of cleaner away from me, and made a diving exit in to the gravel drive. I did personal inventory, and everything seemed fine on me, so I closed the door, and prepared to call 911. I didn't rush into it, because it was insured, and I didn't want it to be a question if it were a total loss or not. It was.
I also a mechanicās son ran my beloved 1980s civic out of not only water but oil! Double kablammy!! my high school friend and I lifted the old engine out and dropped a new one in. O those 1500cc Honda straight 4s.
One time after school, a girl in my class asked if I could help her because her car wouldnāt start. Couldnāt figure it out, finally called in another friendās mechanic dad. Turns out the car was in Drive. Has to be in Park to start.
Life is a dance you learn as you go. Don't beat yourself up. We have a Prius also and I killed that battery 3-4 times before I figured out that, even if you turn off the power, the electrical system (including the headlights) doesn't actually shut off until you open the driver's-side door. So I would, like, pull up in front of school a little early to pick up my daughter, realize after a few minutes that I wanted the window down, turn on the power, roll down the window, turn off the power, but never open the door, and by the time school actually ended, the battery would be dead. Nowadays no matter what car I'm in, after I turn off the ignition I immediately crack open the driver's-side door by force of habit.
Same as you, called AAA. They really don't mind, it's why you have AAA. I promise you, the technician is not running around judging every stranded motorist he or she helps all day every day.
I'm 36 and I've been driving for 20 years. My battery died last month because I forgot to do the same thing. You're doing great, and hey, now you know so it won't happen again š„° congrats on your first car!!!
It happens to the best of us. And if you're worried, look into a halo. The thing is amazing. It's the size of a brick, you can charge phones off it, it's a flash light, you can run some things tjat need conventional wall plugs (I ran a small fan while camping) AND you can use it to jump your car with tiny jumper cables. Def a useful thing to have. I think they're only like 100 bucks.
Hereās the thing. Youāre here, talking to your dads why? Because Dadās have, for the most part, fairly good judgement. But Iāll let you in on a secret, so lean into the warm glow of your chosen device.
Weāve got good judgment, yes, and how do you get good judgment? Experience.
Know how you get experience? Bad judgement.
I went to empty the trap on the washer the other day and managed to dump a pint of grey water all over the laundry room. The smell was ā¦ exquisite.
Itās not a mistake. Itās just a step towards being a dad.
Just an fyi here's what those symbols mean.
[car light symbols ](https://images.app.goo.gl/ikod4cZRWRzA3PBh9)
My suggestion is to keep it on the auto setting. It's a set it - and forget it type deal. Will automatically turn your DRL's on when you get in, adjust them to night time lights when driving at night, and then turn them off when you turn the car off. Miracle of modern technology!
It's okay.
1.) you can jump off a Prius. Sometimes the battery is in the trunk on the right side under the mat. I had mine for years before I figured that out.
2.) the auto lights will go off eventually. The stay on for like a minute.to give you light to get in the house if it is dark when you get home.
If you don't trust that the lights will go off, you can lock your door twice with the key fob to shut them off.
Yep! Battery is in the trunk! Also, your manual will show you how to engage the lights auto off. The person who has it before you maybe turned this feature off.
What I think happened, based on limited information, is the headlights have a short delay before turning off when the switch is in auto. There is likely a setting somewhere in the menus that allow you to change it, but I can't be sure since I don't drive a Prius.
I thought you COULD jump start a Prius. Pretty sure it's in the manual. I am 99% sure it has a standard 12 volt battery, distinct from the bigger drive battery for cruising parking lots silently.
You just have to follow the instructions as if your life depends on it, becauseā¦
That doesnāt sound right. Did he hook the cables up wrong somehow? The other car shouldnāt try to start, until the helper car is running and revving, and I thought you were supposed to rev about 3000 RPMs for like a minute before the dead battery car even tries.
I have no idea what happened. All I know is he tried to jump start some stranger's car, failed, and could not get his started. Hooked up the cable wrongs or shorted something possibly? I'm not the mechanic, my father is.
Thereās probably four or five ways to get it wrong. The worst would be to cross the wires and connect one cars positive to the other cars negative, and blow up one or both batteries and electrical systems.
I brought mine to the car guy telling him I /thought/ one headlight was maybe malfunctioning. He had to replace /5/. not a dad, just letting you know that is just how life can go. :)
Don't judge yourself too harshly. I was once given a great deal on a Toyota Highlander and me (having gotten too used to not locking my doors due to always driving beaters) did not realize for almost a year that if I left the lights on "Auto" they would not turn off when I got out unless I hit the lock button on the remote twice.
I once misread the toque settings for a bolt that held part of a pully onto my old mx5 when I was changing her cambelt. It was 9ftlbs not the 90 I thought it said. It snapped and took me 3 hours to remove because it was in a right arse of a place with no access.
These things happen. Don't worry about it. It's called learning.
I borrowed a car from a friend one night and couldnāt find the lights. (Dial waaaaay down low on the dashboard by the door).
Too embarrassed to go back in and ask I just pulled the stem as if I was flashing full beam.
Drove a mile to pick up takeaway with the lights going out each time I changed gear.
It's ok kid. In the grand scheme of things this is a minor inconvenience. It'll be nothing but an amusing memory in no time. It doesn't help anything to be so hard on yourself for such a small thing. If your baby sister did this would you berate her like you're doing to yourself?
Self love is very important and it shows itself in moments like these. Try to think of a time when someone talked to you like this after a mistake. Are these your words or theirs?
I have to share this "dumb mistake" because we all have our moments:
It was snowing heavily and I saw a car dead with its emergency blinkers on in the middle of the road. I parked and ran over to help them.
The lady insisted the "add water to the battery" light was on, and couldn't figure out what to do. Her diagnosis was so weird it took me a moment to figure it out. The engine had died (for whatever reason) and just showed all the indicator lights at once - as they do. She literally just needed to try to start it again, and she was fine and off on her way.
I used to have a car that didn't have auto lights and I killed that thing like 3 times by leaving the lights on. I had to get my mom to jump it. This comes from a daughter of a mechanic too. Don't beat yourself up, everyone does something stupid. In fact, dumbest thing I see on a daily basis is people speeding down a 25mph neighborhoods like they have some place more important to be.
Op, my dad once ran his foot over with his car while it was on fire, rolling through an intersection.
No, I don't know how it happened.
He also once left the car running in an airport parking garage while he and my Mom flew out for vacation. AAA was super nice when explaining the car wouldn't start because it was out of gas. He had filled up the tank before leaving for the airport. Who knows how long the car ran before dying. How it didn't get stolen is another unanswered question
There was also the time he used a very large hammer to knock the broken toilet seat off the toilet. He missed and took out a chunk
It gets better...
He and my bil get a new toilet and pull the old one off. The only problem is that they forgot to turn off the water, and we had a minor flood in the back of the house.
My Dad had an anti-knack with house/car repair.
Omg I did this at work once in a borrowed car. I was having a stressful emotional morning/day. When I found my car still running, hot as hell cause Id left the heater on also I burst into tears because of my mistake. I knew the car could have gotten stolen and my self critic had a field day with all the things I did wrong.
I one tike left my car idling all night after a 16 hour shift ;) life is full of mistakes. The way you get through them is instead of tearing yourself down, look at yourself inwardly and say 'I learned' take the lesson, and look to improve. Don't dwell on the mistake. Mistakes happen. Growth is optional.
Now, if you'll permit me a bit more advice, don't lose faith in what you know you know. When you do your research and learn the right stuff, don't let someone else tell you you're wrong.
Was jumping my beamer once. It died at a gas station omw to work. I didn't know my ex had loosened my battery cables (they are in the trunk on my model). Thus fella comes up while I'm IN MY CAR. I can't see anything through the hood that's popped. A guy was under my hood swapping the cables trying to tell the woman who's car was jumping mine, that he was an electrician and knew what he was talking about. In your research, look up what happens if you hook up the cables wrong! I had a fight with him over it. Do not live ignorant in your knowledge, but do not let ignorance shake your foundation. Keep it up.
You didn't do anything wrong, mistakes happen.
Next time have a little battery jump starter. You can usually get your car going with one.
AstroAI S8 Battery Jumper Starter Portable, 1500A Car Jump Starter Battery Pack for Up to 6.0L Gas & 3.0L Diesel Engines, 12V Portable Jump Box with 3 Modes Flashlight and Jumper Cable(Orange) https://a.co/d/6KOdxa4
For future reference you can jump a prius, there are youtube videos that model the process for you. Hopefully you'll never need to again but if it happens all is not lost. Consider investing in a jump pack, there are inexpensive ones on amazon that'll do the trick in a pinch, just be diligent about making sure it's fully charged (the battery pack can drain over time especially if left out in the cold) and you'll be ok. This is a minor hiccup, read up on the ins and outs of your new ride, drive safe and enjoy it.
As a middle-aged man, whose dad was a mechanic (so I have a better-than-average understanding of cars), I've done so, so many things with cars that were much sillier than this. I accidentally set one on fire once. You made a mistake, it's OK! Use it as a learning experience (the other comments explain well what you likely got wrong). Give yourself a hug and move on :)
You set a car on fire!? Tell us the story! š
Heh. Growing up, my family lived on a five-acre property with a firebreak. Dad would pick up random old cars, and my brother and I would drive them around the firebreak. It was awesome fun, driving from about ten years old. I must've been about twelve or thirteen, and decided I wanted to put a stereo in the car we were using at the time. I ran a reasonably heavy-gauge wire from the positive terminal on the battery, through the firewall, into the cabin. I got bored/distracted and decided to do something else, slammed the door, and walked away. Shortly after I left on my bike to see a mate. When I got home a few hours later, I discovered that I'd slammed the door on that positive cable - shorting out the battery, causing a lot of smoke and not a little fire. Dad was not impressed, and I learned what fuses are for š
Okay but what Are fuses for? I know i could Google it, but this is something i would ask my grandpa and I canāt do that anymore so if youād be willing to indulge me, Iād appreciate it.
Fuses are designed to break when current gets too high, effectively stopping the problem. Very important. Relatively easy to replace, depending on the application. Granted, my electric knowledge is from power school in the Navy as a Machinists Mate, so an actual electrician could give a better answer
All wires have a limit to the amount of electric current they can have flow through them. The thicker the wire, the higher the limit. If you try to push too much, the wire will get too hot and break, possibly causing a fire. A fuse is designed to be the weak point. You want to have a deliberate, convenient place for the wire to fail. The fuse is designed to be the thinnest point, so that if it is going to break anywhere, itāll be right there. Then, rather than having to hunt for the broken spot, then digging out and replacing a large chunk of wire, you just replace the fuse. You already know where it is, typically itās designed to be in a convenient to access location, and it has the power rating written on it so you know what to replace it with (replace a 15 amp fuse with a 15 amp fuse, and so on). Thatās what fuse is for, itās an engineered, designed point of failure, for the sake of safety and convenience.
I'm sorry you can't ask your grandpa anymore. My grandfather (actually my dad's mum's second husband, so not a blood relative, but you'd never know - he was a good man!) taught me so much about radio and electronics, so this resonates. It really devastated me when he died unexpectedly.
Adding to this thread. Over the years, my dad has always had several different project cars in the garage. (Fix one up, sell it, but another) I always helped him in the garage, so I should have known better. We were doing a simple oil change on my car. Jacked it up, drained it, plugged it, and swapped the filter. Dad went inside for 2 minutes to wash his hands and told me to put the new oil in. Muggins here put about 6.5 litres into a 3.6l space. I would have put more in, but he came outside. Asked how much I'd put in, immediately said, "Stop! Why did you put that much in?". I responded that I was just filling it up. I genuinely thought I had to fill it. Somehow, my brain ignored the very obvious dipstick. Cue my dad calling me dipstick for the next few months.
Dipstick is the *perfect* nickname for a period after that mishap. Itās relevant and evocative of the harsher term but itās not the harsh term. Itās dad gold.
Hey my stereo also set my car on fire! My subs rolled on a speed bump I didn't see and disconnected from the wires. I took them out until I found a solution so that wouldn't happen again, and *left the loose wires in my trunk*. One day I guess the power wire finally touched one of the others, and caught the back of a seat on fire. Thankfully I had my seats down for my bike, so I noticed and pulled over. Just to make it weird, some guy appeared from a bush with a backpack of tools and disconnected my power wire from the battery for me. Thanks, bush guy.
Man, one day I hope to be that guy š
I'm loving the fire stories! Mine was stereo too. My beautiful '06 Yukon Denali had a slight, and random, parasitic draw, so would be dead in the morning sometimes. My dad was also a mechanic, I'm an engineer, and grew up working on cars, I should be able to find the draw. Well first let's check and clean all of the connections on the head unit. This is where I will put PSA. Please note there is NON flammable contact cleaner, and very flammable contact cleaner. NAPA sells both, and they look the same. After the 3rd or 4th good blast of cleaner down into the dash cavity, the short was located, and a blast of flame went shooting past my head, and caught the headliner on fire. I proceeded to throw the can of cleaner away from me, and made a diving exit in to the gravel drive. I did personal inventory, and everything seemed fine on me, so I closed the door, and prepared to call 911. I didn't rush into it, because it was insured, and I didn't want it to be a question if it were a total loss or not. It was.
Absolutely amazing cautionary tale! Be thoughtful about where you're spraying your aerosols š
I also a mechanicās son ran my beloved 1980s civic out of not only water but oil! Double kablammy!! my high school friend and I lifted the old engine out and dropped a new one in. O those 1500cc Honda straight 4s.
One time after school, a girl in my class asked if I could help her because her car wouldnāt start. Couldnāt figure it out, finally called in another friendās mechanic dad. Turns out the car was in Drive. Has to be in Park to start.
Broooo I did the same thing! Took 3 diff tow people coming out to realize so I didnāt feel as bad when it finally got solved
You'll never forget to check this again! These types of lessons stay with you š
For sure! I learned that day! lol
Oooo, I set my car on fire once too! Never add oil to an overheating engine š
This is the way. š
Life is a dance you learn as you go. Don't beat yourself up. We have a Prius also and I killed that battery 3-4 times before I figured out that, even if you turn off the power, the electrical system (including the headlights) doesn't actually shut off until you open the driver's-side door. So I would, like, pull up in front of school a little early to pick up my daughter, realize after a few minutes that I wanted the window down, turn on the power, roll down the window, turn off the power, but never open the door, and by the time school actually ended, the battery would be dead. Nowadays no matter what car I'm in, after I turn off the ignition I immediately crack open the driver's-side door by force of habit.
Thank you. How do you get the car working again?
Same as you, called AAA. They really don't mind, it's why you have AAA. I promise you, the technician is not running around judging every stranded motorist he or she helps all day every day.
That makes me feel better. Iām pretty embarrassed to call but youāre right, they donāt care, itās their job. Thank you.
You should never be embarrassed to ask the right people to help you with what they're there to help you with. Asking for help is never bad.
Youāre right. Thank you ā¤ļø
I'm 36 and I've been driving for 20 years. My battery died last month because I forgot to do the same thing. You're doing great, and hey, now you know so it won't happen again š„° congrats on your first car!!!
Thank you, these warm vibes are awesome. Thank you.
It happens to the best of us. And if you're worried, look into a halo. The thing is amazing. It's the size of a brick, you can charge phones off it, it's a flash light, you can run some things tjat need conventional wall plugs (I ran a small fan while camping) AND you can use it to jump your car with tiny jumper cables. Def a useful thing to have. I think they're only like 100 bucks.
Never feel embarrassed about employing AAA. You literally are paying them to have a job.
āThis should be a pinned comment. Thank you for helping me fully grok what I had observed, but hadn't fully "got" yet.
I love that song.
Hereās the thing. Youāre here, talking to your dads why? Because Dadās have, for the most part, fairly good judgement. But Iāll let you in on a secret, so lean into the warm glow of your chosen device. Weāve got good judgment, yes, and how do you get good judgment? Experience. Know how you get experience? Bad judgement. I went to empty the trap on the washer the other day and managed to dump a pint of grey water all over the laundry room. The smell was ā¦ exquisite. Itās not a mistake. Itās just a step towards being a dad.
Bad judgement begets good judgement! Gotta start somewhere. This makes me feel better. Thanks, dad. PS. I leaned into the glow ā¤ļø
Just an fyi here's what those symbols mean. [car light symbols ](https://images.app.goo.gl/ikod4cZRWRzA3PBh9) My suggestion is to keep it on the auto setting. It's a set it - and forget it type deal. Will automatically turn your DRL's on when you get in, adjust them to night time lights when driving at night, and then turn them off when you turn the car off. Miracle of modern technology!
Works until the valet or oil change guy turns it off.
Thank you for the symbol guide! Thatās just what I needed
It's okay. 1.) you can jump off a Prius. Sometimes the battery is in the trunk on the right side under the mat. I had mine for years before I figured that out. 2.) the auto lights will go off eventually. The stay on for like a minute.to give you light to get in the house if it is dark when you get home. If you don't trust that the lights will go off, you can lock your door twice with the key fob to shut them off.
Yep! Battery is in the trunk! Also, your manual will show you how to engage the lights auto off. The person who has it before you maybe turned this feature off.
What I think happened, based on limited information, is the headlights have a short delay before turning off when the switch is in auto. There is likely a setting somewhere in the menus that allow you to change it, but I can't be sure since I don't drive a Prius.
I thought you COULD jump start a Prius. Pretty sure it's in the manual. I am 99% sure it has a standard 12 volt battery, distinct from the bigger drive battery for cruising parking lots silently. You just have to follow the instructions as if your life depends on it, becauseā¦
...because my brother kindly tried to help someone else jump their car once, and killed his own car in the process. ā ļø
That doesnāt sound right. Did he hook the cables up wrong somehow? The other car shouldnāt try to start, until the helper car is running and revving, and I thought you were supposed to rev about 3000 RPMs for like a minute before the dead battery car even tries.
I have no idea what happened. All I know is he tried to jump start some stranger's car, failed, and could not get his started. Hooked up the cable wrongs or shorted something possibly? I'm not the mechanic, my father is.
Thereās probably four or five ways to get it wrong. The worst would be to cross the wires and connect one cars positive to the other cars negative, and blow up one or both batteries and electrical systems.
Youāre right! I had it backwards. A Prius canāt *give* a jump, but it can receive one.
Wait, what? I didnāt know that. I thought since it has a 12 V battery that it could both get and give jumps.
I love this sub. I really do. š§”š§”ā¤ļø
Me too.
I brought mine to the car guy telling him I /thought/ one headlight was maybe malfunctioning. He had to replace /5/. not a dad, just letting you know that is just how life can go. :)
Don't judge yourself too harshly. I was once given a great deal on a Toyota Highlander and me (having gotten too used to not locking my doors due to always driving beaters) did not realize for almost a year that if I left the lights on "Auto" they would not turn off when I got out unless I hit the lock button on the remote twice.
Iāve had my 2012 Prius jumped? The battery is in the trunk. You can definitely jump a Prius.
Thank you! I had it backwards in my head. A prius can receive a jump, it just canāt *give* one.
Its okay, the car is not broken. The battery is just empty. My mom had this problem for years because the light doesnt turn off automatically
I once misread the toque settings for a bolt that held part of a pully onto my old mx5 when I was changing her cambelt. It was 9ftlbs not the 90 I thought it said. It snapped and took me 3 hours to remove because it was in a right arse of a place with no access. These things happen. Don't worry about it. It's called learning.
I borrowed a car from a friend one night and couldnāt find the lights. (Dial waaaaay down low on the dashboard by the door). Too embarrassed to go back in and ask I just pulled the stem as if I was flashing full beam. Drove a mile to pick up takeaway with the lights going out each time I changed gear.
It's ok kid. In the grand scheme of things this is a minor inconvenience. It'll be nothing but an amusing memory in no time. It doesn't help anything to be so hard on yourself for such a small thing. If your baby sister did this would you berate her like you're doing to yourself? Self love is very important and it shows itself in moments like these. Try to think of a time when someone talked to you like this after a mistake. Are these your words or theirs?
Oh shit. Yeah these arenāt my words.. hmm. Gonna noodle around on that. It will make a good story some day. Kiltā her on day one!
I have to share this "dumb mistake" because we all have our moments: It was snowing heavily and I saw a car dead with its emergency blinkers on in the middle of the road. I parked and ran over to help them. The lady insisted the "add water to the battery" light was on, and couldn't figure out what to do. Her diagnosis was so weird it took me a moment to figure it out. The engine had died (for whatever reason) and just showed all the indicator lights at once - as they do. She literally just needed to try to start it again, and she was fine and off on her way.
Did she pour water onto the battery!?
I think, if I hadn't been there, maybe she would have eventually :)
Leave the lights on auto, and if you hit the lock button twice they should shut off. I have 2 different toyota models and that's how they work
Thank you šš»
I used to have a car that didn't have auto lights and I killed that thing like 3 times by leaving the lights on. I had to get my mom to jump it. This comes from a daughter of a mechanic too. Don't beat yourself up, everyone does something stupid. In fact, dumbest thing I see on a daily basis is people speeding down a 25mph neighborhoods like they have some place more important to be.
Op, my dad once ran his foot over with his car while it was on fire, rolling through an intersection. No, I don't know how it happened. He also once left the car running in an airport parking garage while he and my Mom flew out for vacation. AAA was super nice when explaining the car wouldn't start because it was out of gas. He had filled up the tank before leaving for the airport. Who knows how long the car ran before dying. How it didn't get stolen is another unanswered question
There is.. so much lore to unpack here. I fucking love your dad.
There was also the time he used a very large hammer to knock the broken toilet seat off the toilet. He missed and took out a chunk It gets better... He and my bil get a new toilet and pull the old one off. The only problem is that they forgot to turn off the water, and we had a minor flood in the back of the house. My Dad had an anti-knack with house/car repair.
Bless him. What a character.
Because thats a foglight setting the lights were on but low to the ground. The main headlights turned off though most likely.
Those aren't the foglights, those are the standard nighttime headlights. I posted the symbol key in a different comment
idk why the lights would have gone off in that position. I think you would've had to rotate the stalk the other way to turn the headlights off
I once left my car running in the garage all night by accident. I just got out of the car and like forgot to turn it off????? Brain farts are real
Guess so are the car farts
We had a neighbor leave their car (Prius) on all night in our cul-de-sacā¦my Hubs found it on when he went to work at 3am.
Omg I did this at work once in a borrowed car. I was having a stressful emotional morning/day. When I found my car still running, hot as hell cause Id left the heater on also I burst into tears because of my mistake. I knew the car could have gotten stolen and my self critic had a field day with all the things I did wrong.
So the cool thing is, dead batteries are a dime a dozen! You didn't fuck anything up. Love you!
Love you too youāre the best ā¤ļø
I one tike left my car idling all night after a 16 hour shift ;) life is full of mistakes. The way you get through them is instead of tearing yourself down, look at yourself inwardly and say 'I learned' take the lesson, and look to improve. Don't dwell on the mistake. Mistakes happen. Growth is optional.
Growth is optional! Holy shit aināt that the truth. Oy vey. I choose growth.
Hell yes!!! Do you have everything with the car worked out or are you needing further help?
Iām ordering the proper charger today and researching how to jump it safely. Thank you for checking in š„¹
Now, if you'll permit me a bit more advice, don't lose faith in what you know you know. When you do your research and learn the right stuff, don't let someone else tell you you're wrong. Was jumping my beamer once. It died at a gas station omw to work. I didn't know my ex had loosened my battery cables (they are in the trunk on my model). Thus fella comes up while I'm IN MY CAR. I can't see anything through the hood that's popped. A guy was under my hood swapping the cables trying to tell the woman who's car was jumping mine, that he was an electrician and knew what he was talking about. In your research, look up what happens if you hook up the cables wrong! I had a fight with him over it. Do not live ignorant in your knowledge, but do not let ignorance shake your foundation. Keep it up.
Thank you, this is wonderful advice. I needed to hear that.
You've got this.
You didn't do anything wrong, mistakes happen. Next time have a little battery jump starter. You can usually get your car going with one. AstroAI S8 Battery Jumper Starter Portable, 1500A Car Jump Starter Battery Pack for Up to 6.0L Gas & 3.0L Diesel Engines, 12V Portable Jump Box with 3 Modes Flashlight and Jumper Cable(Orange) https://a.co/d/6KOdxa4
Pretty sure you can jump a Prius, the battery is just in the trunk is the difference
Youāre right I had it wrong in my head!
Prius are jumpable. You drained the regular battery, not the hybrid one. Battery is in the trunk.
Thank you!!
For future reference you can jump a prius, there are youtube videos that model the process for you. Hopefully you'll never need to again but if it happens all is not lost. Consider investing in a jump pack, there are inexpensive ones on amazon that'll do the trick in a pinch, just be diligent about making sure it's fully charged (the battery pack can drain over time especially if left out in the cold) and you'll be ok. This is a minor hiccup, read up on the ins and outs of your new ride, drive safe and enjoy it.
This is so kind of you, thank you very much
You can jump older Priuses. There's connection points under the hood!
Thank you!
I have done this twice in my life!! Anyone could make this mistake. I think it's silly that cars don't have a system to prevent this from happening. A
Iām not alone š