Every problem I’ve encountered with my Prius c so far has been my fault.

Problem 1: Check hybrid battery message & ignition coil error codes after a fuse blew.

Cause: I removed the coil fuse when trying to locate the blown 12v / cig fuse and put it back in a blank slot

I think this happened spring of last year, and I spent nearly two weeks trying to figure out what was wrong with my car.. eventually giving up and towing it to the service center.

Of course I felt like a total idiot when I found this out (this is the central theme here), but I’m actually thankful for those two weeks of troubleshooting, because I learned quite a bit about my car in the process and came away from the whole experience with some confidence in my ability to do more DIY repairs and maintenance going forward.

I’m not sure my incompetence should instill confidence, but there you have it.

I’m also thankful the service center was honest in resolving my issue. I was able to point them in the right direction, but they could have easily ripped me off and charged me a bunch of money if they were shady, but they just put the fuse back in the proper slot and I paid the diagnostic fee (towing was AAA).

Problem 2: Engine Oil Pressure Low message after my last oil change.

Cause: I changed the oil and then forgot to put the new filter on.

Uhh yeah.. so considering this was at least the 4th DIY oil change with the Prius c you would think I’d know the drill, but I guess not. I started the car, got the message, immediately turned the car off, and got out to find oil running everywhere. Fun times! I beat myself up over this for the rest of the weekend, and saved no money doing it myself that time around. But I bet I never forget to put a new filter on again!

Problem 3: My clock and trip meter reset a few times after installing a new 12v last year. I thought I fixed it after tightening the ground connection, until yesterday when I attempted to start the car and had zero power.

Cause: Negative terminal connection was loose, which was, of course, my fault again, because I installed the new battery.

So the moral of this story is that after 2+ years and over 40k miles, my car has been awesome, and every issue I’ve had with it was my fault. Yes, I’m the fool in all of these scenarios, but sometimes trial and error is how we learn (and hopefully those errors aren’t too expensive).

 

I was born in 1981, so I’m getting a head start on you guys!

5 years ago I was attempting what I thought was the beginning of a hike along the north rim of the Grand Canyon called The Trancept Trail.. 3 minutes later I’m in all this brush, it’s super rocky, and I’m thinking to myself, “Wow, this is getting really hard, really fast.. feels very primitive.. not sure if I can continue.” Then I look up and see two people, maybe 20-30 feet above me, heading back to the campground and realize why my hike got so hard so fast: They were at the trailhead I completely missed, and I was making my way down the side of the canyon