Fix.
Not fixed.
I have no idea which verb tense that would be, but it’s the one that means something happens more than once. Over and over.
Last year, when we bought our 13 year old Suburban, the weather was nice. Although we turned on the air, it didn’t have to work very hard.
A month or so later, when I needed it to work hard, I experienced buyer’s remorse BIG TIME because it wasn’t getting the job done. I mean, did we throw an entire $3,000 down the drain? The Texas summer was coming, and a vehicle with no A/C is NOT okay with me, no matter how great of a deal we got.
The A/C was blowing, and I could feel that the air was cool, but it seemed to have no power. No oomph.
No va-va-va-voom.
We were sweating like pigs, and leather seats aren’t so fabulous when the backs of your thighs stick to them.
We took it to our mechanic, who discovered that . . . a plastic shopping bag had been sucked up into the air conditioner. Yes, it was working just fine, but very little air was getting out because of the bag. Thankfully, he didn’t even charge us.
I chose to live in denial. I reasoned that it must have been sucked in from outside, and that if it was from the inside, it must have been that way when we got it because I didn’t remember there being an empty bag over there. (Like me not remembering something like that means anything.)
And then it happened again.
And again.
And now I no longer pretend that it’s someone else’s fault.
Even though I KNOW not to put plastic bags, even full ones, in that spot, somehow they end up there. Now, when we start to fret that “something’s wrong with the air-conditioner” I know to reach up under the big-black-thing-a-ma-jig on the passenger side floorboard.
And there’s always a plastic bag.
And I’m always a little surprised.
(No, this isn’t officially Suburban Week, but I guess it could be.)
Oh girl, you crack me up. 🙂
Mine is the refrigerator. Somehow when it stops cooling I always think "Hmmm, wonder how long it's been since I vacuumed under it, behind it…" and then I turn it off, vacuum it, and 20 minutes later when I turn it back on – Voila! A working refrigerator! Someday, I'll learn, or not… LOL
I read a tip about cleaning a car that made me think of you. After I made a mental note for myself of course. This lady just opens all the doors & takes a leaf blower to the inside! Blows all the dirt right out. Obviously after she removes all the garbage & other stuff. How much easier does that sound than trying to vacuum in all those stupid nooks & crannies?
I have visited Texas in a minivan that didn't have good AC. OF course we didn't know it, it was a new to us vehicle and much cooler weather reigned in Nebraska. LOL It was miserable and the minute we reached my Hubby's grandmother's the van went to a mechanic. Ours wasn't a cheap fix like yours… Love the story. Thanks for sharing.
I have no idea about your Suburban's anatomy, but is there a way you could rig a screen or a grate or something in front of the opening to keep stray bags out of there?
Good stuff – right up there with using a qtip to clean to intake screen on the blow dryer 🙂
Huh? That's wild!
I had to click on your post because my suburban's a/c is not working.
I don't think there's any plastic bags down there…but I'll surely be checking!
I've been driving this baby since 99! She's never left me sitting broke down, but being hot is not going to be our new relationship either! 🙁
Umm… my car's A/C has been not-nearly-cold-enough for a while now. I think you may have just given me the solution – I keep plastic bags in the glove compartment, where they could surely fall onto the floor and cause problems like this. Must go check once the baby wakes up…
This confuses me terribly. HOW are they getting in there? But I hope that other owners of plastic bag eating Suburban drivers will save tons by reading your blog post and avoiding unscrupulous mechanics.
My burb is 2001. We just spent $209+ to fix the AC. There are 2 filters in the AC that need to be changed hit works great now. It has 200,000 miles on it. Luv my burb