The green Saturn is the fourth car I’ve owned in my lifetime. I had the gray Honda the longest, but before that the blue Subaru and the yellow Escort were both good cars, right up until the point where they weren’t. That’s when I got rid of them. Any time I lost confidence in a car, I had to trade it or sell it before it made me physically ill. I’m funny that way.

Until the last few weeks, the Saturn hasn’t given me any trouble. Then it started locking me in (sometimes out), until I figured out how to get around the quirks of the locking system. Sometimes the remote wouldn’t unlock the driver’s door, even though it would unlock all of the other three doors. Sometimes when I stopped the car and pulled the key, my door wouldn’t unlock, as it’s supposed to do. After several frustrating episodes, I solved the problem by locking and unlocking the door manually. I shouldn’t have to do it, but it’s a lot less inconvenient than crawling over the seats to another door.

Then came this morning, when the car wouldn’t start at all. The radio and lights came on when I turned the key, so it probably wasn’t the battery. I just got a hum when I tried to start it. It made me a little crazed, because I’ve never had any trouble starting (well, not since the first month I had it, when it was mostly in the shop with a coolant problem). I called the dealer. They gave me the number for Saturn’s roadside assistance (which is covered under my purchase agreement), so I called them. They sent a tow truck. The tow truck driver took the key and started the car right up.

I almost wished it hadn’t worked. I would have been without a car for a while, but I would have known it was being fixed. Instead, I drove it to the dealer, where they ran a computer diagnostic and found nothing wrong. I let them know it was due in a month for a major service, and they told me to drive it until then. They said it probably just had a bad morning. Somehow that didn’t comfort me, but I was determined to stay positive.

And I drove it all over Santa Rosa the rest of the day, back home and then to the post office and then to the gas station and then to the mall, and then back home again. No problems. I didn’t even get locked in (or out). So now I’m just going to pretend this incident never happened. Until it happens again, that is.

The funny thing is, I was so worried about tire pressure in the left front that my first stop this morning was going to be the one and only gas station on this side of town with an air hose. (When did stations stop providing this service?) When I opened the garage door, I took another look at the tire. I wasn’t sure it was low, but I wanted to be confident. Then I couldn’t start the car, so tire pressure took a back seat.

While I was at the dealer, I had the guy check the tire pressure. He said it looked okay, and his gauge confirmed it. He checked all four tires, and they were all fine. I’m glad I didn’t drive to the gas station and overinflate that tire. It would have been just like me to take a problem that wasn’t a problem and turn it into a real problem. Maybe things worked out for the best, but I’ll still be a little nervous tomorrow morning. (If I miss any appointments, you’ll know why.)