so there I was trying to buy gas, needed to move back a bit to reach the right pump as I'd parked in front of a diesel pump by mistake, put the key in and wow - the ignition won't budge!! I'm like, what the ?? trying to turn the wheel a bit, and asking myself what am I doing wrong, all the while this sense that the key was bad - don't even ask me why.
I was 30 miles from my mechanic but I called him, he said it could be the key, could be the ignition, etc etc. After more futile attempts I called AAA and they sent a tow truck, the driver was saying how he'd have to drag my truck (Ford Ranger) onto his bed to tow it, and since it's locked in Park, well...I was immediately confronted with the reality of what this meant.
He saw the look on my face and said he'd do everything he could first so he didn't have to drag it - took the cover off the steering column and started messing around, eventually got it to unlock and said here you can drive it to the garage.
So I did - my mechanice couldn't figure it out either, because now it worked fine (of course!) and he thinks it might be the key - I have a spare at home, and after returning home, I examined both of them under a magnifying glass, and sure enough, the one I've been using is pretty worn on the very tip, quite smooth and no longer sharp angles.
My mechanic, Joe, had said to drive it w/the new key and see if that worked, he said the key is programmed and it's a lot of trouble to replace the ignition because the key has to be re-programmed.
There has been absolutely no indication that I've noticed that this was about to happen. Nothing, nada. It was a total and complete shock. Also I take very good care of this truck, just had the oil and fuel filter changed the week before, in fact.
This is a 2003 Ford Ranger Edge, V6, 3L, 2WD. I've had it since 2009, maybe 164,000M right now.
Thoughts?
*another aspect to this* if this DOES happen again (good lord I hope not!) what kind of tow truck do I request to make sure they can lift up my truck w/o dragging it and damaging the transmission if it's locked in Park?
I was 30 miles from my mechanic but I called him, he said it could be the key, could be the ignition, etc etc. After more futile attempts I called AAA and they sent a tow truck, the driver was saying how he'd have to drag my truck (Ford Ranger) onto his bed to tow it, and since it's locked in Park, well...I was immediately confronted with the reality of what this meant.
He saw the look on my face and said he'd do everything he could first so he didn't have to drag it - took the cover off the steering column and started messing around, eventually got it to unlock and said here you can drive it to the garage.
So I did - my mechanice couldn't figure it out either, because now it worked fine (of course!) and he thinks it might be the key - I have a spare at home, and after returning home, I examined both of them under a magnifying glass, and sure enough, the one I've been using is pretty worn on the very tip, quite smooth and no longer sharp angles.
My mechanic, Joe, had said to drive it w/the new key and see if that worked, he said the key is programmed and it's a lot of trouble to replace the ignition because the key has to be re-programmed.
There has been absolutely no indication that I've noticed that this was about to happen. Nothing, nada. It was a total and complete shock. Also I take very good care of this truck, just had the oil and fuel filter changed the week before, in fact.
This is a 2003 Ford Ranger Edge, V6, 3L, 2WD. I've had it since 2009, maybe 164,000M right now.
Thoughts?
*another aspect to this* if this DOES happen again (good lord I hope not!) what kind of tow truck do I request to make sure they can lift up my truck w/o dragging it and damaging the transmission if it's locked in Park?
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