That is one of the things I have against the electric windows. I read you have 15 to 20 seconds to roll the windows down if you hit the water. If you are dazed by an impact or whatever, you are stuck in your vehicle to drown (or suffocate) unless you can break the windows, as the doors generally won't open once submerged.
Attach it to the driver's seatbelt and tuck it into the seat crack. Most of them also have a seat belt cutter if the seat belt locks.
I had not driven my 2019 Mazda in 4 or 5 days, and got ready to make the 30 mile drive to get my prescription today, and the battery was dead! All these damned electronics constantly sucking juice plus a few cold·ish days killed it. I had to get my tractor out and jump start it...and I'm only in central Virginia, not the northeast or Illinois/Michigan/etc. Then the "Air Bag System May Not Be Working" light flashed until I turned it off at the gas station and [thankfully] restarted the car. I'm thinking of getting another battery maintainer like I put in my truck. Regarding your general sentiment: I was nearing 40 before I had my first car payment. I had one car I paid $1,000 for, and the rest were $500-$600 dollars...and they were easy to work on. I agree that you saved money by repairing what you've got: you had no payments, lower insurance, and lower personal property taxes (if your state assesses them.) As long as there's not too much of a reliability risk, keep on doing that (until I hit a deer a few years ago, I was driving a 1990 Volvo with 200,000 miles on it.)
Yes in California my license and registration this year ran me $177 because they consider my truck with a canopy a commercial vehicle but my insurance for that truck is I got full coverage for $32 a month was State farm so that's a huge savings I thought I mean on insurance not on not saving much on license and registration but the guy told me that I might as well have full coverage because it was only $32 and I was already paying $30 I think it was for just the minimum insurance so about a year ago year and a half ago something like that I changed it over to full coverage even though I don't even drive out of town most of the time and this town is only 6 miles across I think it is
I'm never without a knife and could use the handle if need be but those are good ideas for hubby. Thanks
Since the subject came up, I have one of these: It is a window breaker, seat belt slasher, always-charged emergency light that stays plugged in to the cigarette lighter so it is always handy. Amazon has them here for $35. If you decide to get something like this, plug it into a cigarette lighter that is switched with the ignition. My first one fried because it was in an always-powered cigarette lighter. I've had the second one for over 3 years, plugged into a switched outlet.
When we lived in northern Colorado and I wanted to replace the engine on the 2005 Durango, my wife would look at me and say "Take a look at your files/receipts at how much money we already spent on it since December 2005. What happens if we replace the engine and then the trany goes out or something else? Do we want to keep pushing money into this Durango or simply get a better one?" It made it from northeastern Colorado to Henderson, NV. But, was that by luck? Guess, just depending, "newer vehicle or take the chance with the old one?" That can be a big/major question.
Believe it or not, John, I just went on Amazon and put one in my cart! Also have a First Aid Kit, Fire Extinguisher and Roadside Battery Operated Adjustable Flasher Lights (6), plus the Air Pump that was recommended by a you or someone else that I got on Amazon. Last, but not least, we also have a iPhone External Battery in the vehicle that I always make sure is fully charged up. Add AAA Auto Membership. Guess we have all we need?
I bought a new Mazda in 2019 mainly because I am in a rural area. That means 2 things: 1-Everywhere I go is far from home. When I lived in the suburbs, most of my shopping was less than a mile walk back home. 2-There are no rental car places out here. When I get in a bind, Enterprise ain't gonna come and pick me up. Nor is it easy to rent a car to take a trip in. I would have to drive 20-30 miles to rent a car, leave my personal vehicle there, then drive the rest of the way to my destination. If you add up the car payments, the extra cost of insurance, and the taxes, it's tough to make the case to not repair an existing vehicle, as long as you can tolerate the reliability risk. Of course, back in the day, you could carry extra parts (ignition stuff & belts) and tools to get yourself out of the most likely jam. For most of us, modern cars negated that option.
If that window/seat belt tool fried again, I would take it apart, unsolder the battery, and still keep it in the cigarette lighter without the working flashlight so it's right where I need it. I carry a fire extinguisher, too, but the fact of the matter is that the heat of a car's interior exceeds the tolerance level of extinguishers. Read the temp range for storage of the one you have. I did a lot of research. Like a first aid kit (if it contains meds & ointments), you need to take it inside after each trip and not leave it in the vehicle (but I do.) They make extinguishers that are like road flares and that tolerate being kept in the heat, but they're not gonna work on a breezy day.
I was thinking about an extinguisher that attaches to the underside of the hood and automatically goes off if the temp reaches 800 degrees or so. I believe they have something like that for professional hoods, but I am not sure. Maybe @Bobby Cole knows.
Maybe, but it would be outside the passenger compartment, and if Halon, it wouldn't damage more of the electronics than the fire did.
Not sure but I do know that ANSUL anhydrous sulfur dioxide) systems can be fitted for just about anywhere a suppression system is needed. Generally speaking, nearly every commercial kitchen in the U.S. has one attached to the hood but I did see a YouTube vid where it was used for heavy equipment and also tested on a small diesel engine but I couldn’t copy the link. The last time I priced one out it was a couple of G’s.