At a sketchy gas station in some small town in Louisiana. Car kept giving an error SHIFT SYS FAULT, which I’d never seen before. That was just before midnight, and I thought I was going to need to get it towed. Roadside Assistance said they’d only cover the tow to a Ford dealership within 35 miles, and to get it towed to where I live would be $2500. Miraculously, it finally started after sitting for a while (I was praying like a son of a gun, so my prayers were answered).

Car drive fine after finally starting, but within 20 miles of our house the car started to jerk around, trying to find which gear it wanted to be in. It settled on second gear and wouldn’t shift any higher. That was at 3AM. Ended up driving the rest of the way going 22MPH. A police officer stopped me to ask me what the problem was, then escorted me part of the way. That made me feel important.

This is a 2021 Ford Explorer with 19,500 miles on it.