고마운 분들

지난 크리스마스에 인디애나주에 사시는 아버님을 뵈려 ~450 마일 북쪽으로 가족들을 데리고 운전하여 가는 도중, 100여 마일 정도 남기고 serpentine belt 가 끈어지면서 차가 서 버렸다.  It was around 7 PM.  Oh Boy!!  처음 당하는 일이라 정신이 무척 혼란스러웠다.  이거 우리 모두 동태터럼 길가에서 얼어죽나 ㅠㅠ!

그래도 침착히 차를 shoulder 에 세우고, 이사태를 어찌 수습할까 고민.  사방은 모두 어둡고, 차들은 씽씽 달리니, 참 위험하다.  일단  AAA에 전화를 했다.  어짜피 차를 tow 해야하니..

위치가 어딘지도 확실치 않아 GPS에서 나타난 위치를 대강 알려주는데 마침 sheriff 가 반대 방향으로 가다 우리를 보고 차를 돌려 왔다. 해서 sheriff에게 지금위치를 AAA operator 에게 알려주라 청하고...  다행이 Greensburg 라는 작은 타운이 그리 멀지 않았다.

The sheriff also offered giving us a ride to the nearest town, as the towing truck usually has a limited room for passengers.  How nice!!

잠시 기다리니 AAA towing truck came.  구세주가 따로 있던가....  And the truck driver found that the belt was broken.  Fortunately, the truck has a crew cab that could hold all of us together.  Sheriff와 작별인사를 하고 Greensburg로 향했는데, 인제 차를 어드서 고치지? 할러대이 바로 전 이라 shop 이 일찍 닫지 않았을까??

Truck driver가 아는 NTB라는 곳을 갔더니 마침 still open 이라, 구세주가 따로 있던가...
After careful inspection, the mechanic said that the belt was broken because of the failure of the idle pulley (see below).  Then he said that the part is a dealer-only carrying item, meaning that they don't have it.  Even worse, the nearest dealer is about 40 miles away and it was closed already.

(E) is the part that failed.

He then called several places and found out that the part is actually compatible with BMW part.  He said that since the BMW dealer is in the town where he lives, he will pick up the part tomorrow morning.  He did  and fixed our car on the Christmas Eve.  Anyway we had to stay the night at this town and they kindly gave us a ride to and from the hotel nearby.

**Thanks all who helped us to make this trip safely**
*고딩인 아들에게 아주 좋은 경험이 되었다.

A few tips for long distance driving during winter season:
1) Always bring the GPS with you, even though you know the way very well to the destination.
2) If possible, have a membership of the emergency road service (such as triple A), although your car is relatively new.  This is a kind of inexpensive insurance.
3) Carry warm clothes/blankets in the car.  Once the car stall, you have no power to heat up.
4) Carry at least one flash light emitting bright light. A small one with LED was too dim.
5) If possible, carry 'emergency flares' which can show your location easily to the police and other passing cars.
6) Fully charge your cell phones before you leave.  If the battery is gone bad (i.e., it loses the power too fast than normal), change the battery before you leave.
7) If possible, drive while it is still bright outside.

A diagnosis of the belt failure:
serpentine belt는 한 번에 끈어지지 않는다.  만약 운전도중 앞에서 규칙적으로 '딸각 딸각'소리가 들리면 belt를 즉시 첵!!  우리도 이런 소리를 들었는데 무시하고 가다가 일이 났음.