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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/willk95 on 2023-10-08 23:21:14.

I’ve had my 2007 Subaru car for about a year and a half now, I got it intended to be a road trip-mobile. It’s in pretty good shape, with some little issues that come up here and there as one would expect with a car of it’s age. Admittedly, I haven’t been doing the best job of taking care of it (driving on dirt roads, not checking tire pressure often enough, etc.) and today I learned a big lesson.

I drove yesterday to the White Mountains of New Hampshire (~2.5 hours from my home), hiked all of yesterday, and camped at a shelter. When I got back to my car early this morning, it started alright, and I drove it for 7 or 8 miles before pulling over to call home and stretch my legs outside. I got back in the car, put the key in ignition and… the engine didn’t start. Huh? I tried 5 or 6 more times and realized “oh shit, what did I do wrong?” Luckily the road I was on had one bar of cell service, so I called my dad to get his advice, and later AAA. An electrician drove by to offer assistance, and said that I was almost out of oil, and it blew the motor, which is why the engine didn’t start. When the AAA tow driver came, he helped further diagnose the problem, which is that my starter was bad, and he took me to a parts store to get a new one. He did some kind of temporary fix magic trick to get the starter to momentarily work by tapping it with a metal rod, really saved my skin there. Once it was up and running, I drove straight home, not wanting to risk stopping and getting stuck in any wilderness with an engine that isn’t working right.

TL;DR If you love taking like road trips like I do, take proper care of your vehicle. It’s not an indestructible driving machine like you see in video games and TV. Shit Happens. Thank god I didn’t get stuck on a dirt road with zero phone reception.