After I got done laughing, and over the total amusement of such a Series of Unfortunate Events, I opened the hood of my car, so we could figure out where to connect the jumper cables, even though the keys were still locked in the truck. Remember that I had been shopping and have several items of frozen food in my car, which I thought would quickly go from the shopping cart to the house. We peered into the engine compartment of my Prius, and could not guess where one might attach the clamps on the cables in order to jump start the dead car. There was literally no battery in sight. I thought he, being a Man, would surely know about this type problem, and I am sure that he expected I would know what was hiding under my own hood.
He knew he had to go back in the store and confess to the store manager about the keys being locked in the truck. And I knew I needed to resolve the 'where's the battery' problem and get underway. So plan C: I called my insurance agent's office, and was very thankful a female answered the phone: someone who would not make light of my misfortune, or be amused at my limited skills. What sort of person does not know where the battery is located in the car they have been driving for five years? The answer to that: Me.
The guys at the quickie oil change came and pried open the door to unlock the truck. So that was pretty easy to resolve. My reliable, faithful, dependable service rep. with the insurance office, even though she got a good chuckle out of my tale of woe, called the Pop-a-Lock people. And that nice, friendly, efficient, knowledgeable guy from Pop-a-Lock came and started my car in a jiffy. It took him for-ever to get there, but he was quick to get me going when he did arrive.
I'd been calling around looking for a battery during the interim. Strolling the parking lot and gnashing my teeth: and found a battery on the third try. The first place I called, did not have what I needed and told me I would have to go to the dealer. Which I did not want to do, as I have a friend who did when she had the same problem and paid them $500. Tommy got me started and I drove across town the battery store where my new best friend, Tommy works. He spent about thirty minutes taking the old one out, and installing a new seven-year warranty battery. I got home about 6:30, cold, tired, and $200 lighter.
But after all that: I am so thankful I got the problem resolved. And was not hundreds of miles from home when it happened. And have good insurance, and good insurance people. And the ability to pay for a new battery when I need one. And now, my little Toyo is happy, purring along, ready for the next adventure.
Oh - the starter battery is in the back, just behind the right taillight, under the floor. There are a couple of little 'pins' in the fuse box up under the hood that the alligator clamps go on to jump it. But you have to practically dismantle the back end to get to the battery for removal. I'm sure the guy who sold the Prius to me told me that - but it was over five years ago, and I'm not always good at remembering what I did yesterday, so how would I know that????
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