My car wouldn’t start the other day, the engine just whirred without quite turning over, so it reminded me I’d meant to scrub off the battery terminals, which had lots of white-green crud or corrosion last time I’d looked. So I got some WD40, rags and a little brush, and got in the car to open the hood. Then the lever to the hood release snapped. It just wobbled back and forth.
Online there was a video or two of men opening their hoods without the hood release, but I tried to see the catch on the front of the car, and couldn’t see it or reach anything. So I did that thing where you join AAA and then immediately call for emergency road service. It was going to cost me an extra $50 since benefits don’t kick in the same day — but the rep on the phone couldn’t make her system accept my payment, even with a supervisor’s help — so they waived the fee. One lucky thing.
Anyway, a road guy came out, and managed to open the hood by cracking open the compartment inside the car and pulling the hood release cable with pliers. Then he cleaned the battery terminals by pouring a mix of baking soda and water over them. The corrosion came right off, it was surprising.
But I ended up buying a new battery anyway, since mine was so old. I’m kind of glad, too, since the baking soda mix ran down into the battery case, and when they took the old battery out that could all be cleaned out.
Still haven’t gotten the hood release repaired… I have to finish moving out of the storage unit first. It’s all a bunch of worrisome expenses, but hopefully they’ll come slowly enough to manage. And I learned things about the car. I pray to a car god now, asking for my 13-year-old vehicle to last a while.