July 24, 2019
Two months of travel through the north to escape the southern winter. Well that was the plan. We were packed and on the road. Brisbane was our first destination which we would arrive at after two days of driving. I was already thinking of my Planetrowe.com posts.
Alas, after a mere 300 kms of travel we were back home
The car went bang and I’m talking a very loud bang. We pulled over. Some hours later we were towed into the nearest town where we stayed the night. The next day we drove a hire car home. The car and caravan were towed home and the car taken to our mechanic.
After a delay of several days it turned out the problem wasn’t as severe as expected and some 6 days after the initial bang we were back on the road.
It’s hard to believe but again about 300 kms from home we had the second bang. This time we knew what the problem was and the roadside assistance mechanic fixed the problem after a 1.5 hour wait on the side of the road. We again drove to a local dealership who assured us the problem was fixed and so we headed off.
Two hours later ‘BANG’. This time I knew what the problem was and how to fix it. In ten minutes we were back on the rod. So first time a week to fix, second time 1.5 hours, third time 10 minutes. This is the learning curve in action.
We drove on to the next dealership in Dubbo NSW and booked the car in for the next day. They squeezed us in and by 10.00 am we were back on the road with assurances they had really fixed the problem.
We drove away with some trepidation but I can report 2 weeks later the car is behaving.
For those with an interest in these things the hose from the intercooler to the turbo became disconnected hence the bang. No real damage just a hose coming loose. The things you learn.
One message I should share, if you have the option of premium level care for your roadside assistance take it. In 40 years we have never used this level of service until now and it was worth every cent.
One other observation. The dealership reset our engine light via a WiFi connection to the motor. Who knew the motor had a WiFi connection and what other info does the manufacture collect via WiFi? I’m not paranoid, oh no.
A Traveller's Tale 