DON'T EAT GRAPES IN A HONDA PILOT

If you are following Lucy and Ethel’s backroads adventures on Facebook, you know we’re doing the second half of Route 66. We did the first half — Chicago, Illinois, to Adrian, Texas — last year. The second half will take us from Adrian to Santa Monica, California, where Route 66 ends at the pier. 

We left Alabama Sunday, October 6, and drove I-40 to the midway point in Adrian, which is about 30 miles west of Amarillo. After two days of cruising along just fine, Monday evening we encountered a problem that threatened to strand us in Amarillo, cost Lucy (me) lots of money and give us nightmares. The problem? Suddenly, my car wouldn’t shift into reverse!

I have a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite, with electronic gear shifting via buttons in the center console. It had been shifting just fine, then suddenly wouldn’t go into reverse. We found a motel and parked across three spaces with the front-end pointed outward so we could leave without backing up. I have the cell phone number for the salesman who sold me the car, and called him. He had never heard of such a problem! I googled it, and discovered it could be a bad solenoid or low transmission fluid — or something more serious. Having had the car serviced right before I left, I felt pretty bummed about the possibility of low transmission fluid.

I didn’t sleep much that night. Next morning, when I cranked up the car and tried to put it in reverse again, lights and error messages flashed where the odometer is supposed to be. “Transmission failure” and “blind-spot monitor system failure” popped up. As if I weren't worried enough!

We were at the local Honda dealer at 9 a.m. A young man named Dillon took all our info and showed us to the waiting room. We had our needlework and were prepared to spend the day. Imagine our surprise when Dillon returned in five minutes. “I fixed it,” he announced, a big grin spread across his face. We were stunned. “What was the problem?” I asked. “Was it some button I pushed by mistake?” Holding up a teeny-weeny grape stem, he asked, “Was someone eating grapes in the car?” We both nodded. “I found this stem stuck under the reverse button.”

Can you believe it? A tiny grape stem! When he removed it, all the warning lights went off, the reverse gear button worked, and we were good to go. I hugged him, did a happy dance, and told him I took back all the horrible things I’ve said about automobile dealers. We were at their mercy, and they were so refreshingly honest!

So, we jumped into the car, laughing and bouncing in our seats. As we said our last good byes, I promised to give Brown Honda of Amarillo a great rating on Facebook. As we pulled off, I glanced sideways, and saw Dillon talking to another technician, who was smiling broadly. I’m sure that grape stem was the topic of conversation around the coffee pot all day. It certainly was for Lucy and Ethel, who will stick to apples and bananas from now on!