The air bag: Breaking down can shake your faith in your car

I’ve bought my past three cars new from the showroom. Some may call this an unwise financial decision, considering the depreciation as soon as it’s driven out the door, but I like the peace of mind of knowing the car’s full history, that it’s under warranty and, in theory, the likelihood of it breaking down is minimal.

I bought my current car just over a year ago – a beautiful new Jeep Cherokee with all the bells and whistles and full to the brim with technology to help me park, alert me to cars in my blind spots, tell me when the tyre pressure is low and even apply the brakes if a car stops suddenly in front of me. I have thoroughly enjoyed driving my car and have sung its praises at every opportunity. Until now.

At the end of a long day last week, as I was walking through the car park at my office, I tried to remote-start my car, as I do each evening. Nothing. When I got to the car, it unlocked itself. I got in, put my foot on the brake and pressed the stop-start button. Nothing. The ignition was on and the warning lights were flashing like a disco, but it wouldn’t start. Worse still, I couldn’t turn off the ignition or reset it.

After about 10 minutes of flicking through the manual – which I found rather unhelpful – I resorted to phoning my husband like a damsel in distress. He got Jeep’s breakdown service on another line to offer assistance, but nothing they suggested worked. Tired and frustrated, I left the car overnight and got it towed away the next day. I heard about my car’s fate the following day. It was a fault with the battery that was covered under warranty – as it should be for a battery that’s about a year old.

I have my car back and it’s functioning fine, but my faith is lost. What if it happens again? What if next time I’m stranded somewhere on the side of the road in 45°C heat. I chose a new car so I wouldn’t have to deal with these kinds of problems. It got me thinking about how much we’ve come to rely on technology.

I bought my previous car in 2008, a few months after I arrived in the UAE. It wasn’t sexy and didn’t have much power, but it was the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. It was a silver Honda CR-V, and when I sold it six-and-a-half years later, I was confident the new owner would enjoy the same reliability I had. It had never been towed away, never broken down on the side of the road (or anywhere else for that matter) and the only time it wouldn’t start was when the battery went flat after a few years.

In times like this, I miss that car. It had none of the gadgets and gizmos my Jeep has, but at least it had a key that would turn the ignition off. It was simple and reliable.

When I got my first car back in 1996 in Australia – a yellow 1985 Toyota Corolla, with no power steering, no air conditioning, manual windows and not even a cassette player – I was taught how to change a tyre, check the oil and water and put air in the tyres. I had to master these necessary skills before my parents would let me loose on the road. It was obvious when something was about to go wrong with the car – I didn’t need an IT degree to fix it.

Now cars have become so complicated that even the smallest problem, such as a faulty battery, triggers a vehicle shutdown.

Technology is great – when it works. When it doesn’t, we’re stranded in a car park, sweating and wondering why we turned our lives over to the machines.

atomlinson@thenational.ae