We follow JAF, which rushes to help with car troubles 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The surprising reason for the sudden increase in troubles in winter. ■ Car that won't start Could it be because the electric door is opening and closing? JAF rushes to help with all kinds of car troubles 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Team members from the Tochigi branch headed to Nikko City, popular for its beautiful autumn leaves. There was an SOS from a tourist saying that his car wouldn't start. The scene is a popular fishing spot where you can enjoy fishing for yamame trout and iwana. Team member: "Did the engine not start after I parked it?" Client: "It wouldn't start. The engine wouldn't start." A man in his 60s came from Saitama Prefecture, traveling two hours to go fishing. Three hours into fishing, he tried to move his parking spot, and the engine wouldn't start. Client: "(Q. What was your catch?) Two fish." The man caught a fish on his fishing rod, but the car's engine wouldn't start. The first thing the team members looked at was the battery. But... Client: (Q. Do you have any idea why the battery died?) No. It was just opening and closing the door. The car was new and had been purchased two years ago, and he said he had never forgotten to turn off the lights. However, the cause was still a dead battery. Team member: "I measured the voltage, and it was 8.9 volts, not 12.5 volts as usual. I'll plug it in and see if it starts." Team member: "The engine starts without any problems." Client: "It was the battery." But what was the cause of the dead battery? In fact, there was a cause that anyone would make if they didn't know. Team member: "The cause this time was probably because the door was opened and closed frequently, so that might have been the cause." The cause was the electric door, which was opened and closed frequently to put in and take out luggage. Of course, each time it was done, electricity was used, so the battery was under strain while the engine was stopped. Client: "It's cool, though. I had no idea that there was such a risk." Since the battery needed to be charged, the fishing ended here. Client: "I'll come back in two weeks. I'll catch more fish there." ■Keys in the car...battling the cold In Ibaraki Prefecture, a hiker called for help. The client was a man in his 70s who had just returned from hiking. He quickly explained the complicated situation. Client: "I left the (rear) door open and forgot to close it. I locked the (front door) and went hiking. When I came back, I thought, 'I forgot to close it,' so I put all my belongings in and slammed it in, and came here. When I closed the back door, everything was locked." In other words, when he went hiking, he had locked his car, but he was careless and left the trunk open. Two hours later, when he returned, he forgot that all the other doors were locked, so he put his backpack with the car keys in it into the only open trunk and closed it. Client: "(Q. Where's your cell phone?) Everything's inside." "(Q. Your wallet too?) Right." He borrowed a cell phone from another hiker who happened to be there and contacted JAF. Client: "Of all things, I wore light clothing during the climb and took it all off." Indeed, the man's clothes were so light that it was hard to believe it was winter. Client: "When I take a break at the summit or when I come down and get in the car, I wear a down jacket. It's inside. It sounds stupid to talk about it. It really is the slightest bit of carelessness that can lead to this." As the man waits in the cold, the team tries to unlock the door by picking the lock. Team member: "Each car model is different, so some open easily, while others have a bit of a problem." It is 5pm. As the sun sets, the temperature is dropping rapidly. Client: "It's cold. I'm going to walk a bit." The temperature at this time is about 8°C. The man continues to move around to avoid getting cold. Client: "When you open it, first change into the down jacket and shirt behind you. If we make him wait too long, it will be difficult." The cold had a big impact not only on the man, but also on the team members. Team member: "When my fingers get cold, I can't feel anything..." Client: "Does it still take a while?" Team member: "Usually it's okay to open it, but I'm sorry." Client: "My body is already freezing." The man was also at his limit of cold... At that moment, the lock was successfully opened. Client: "That's a nice sound. It really is a nice sound." The man quickly changed into a warm down jacket. Client: "Right now, I'm thinking about taking a quick bath, having a drink, and then having a review of today's work." Since the man was a JAF member, the service was free. ■ Beware of mud Rescue of a stuck car On this day, there was heavy rain in Kanagawa that caused warnings. It was on days like this that the number of SOS calls increased dramatically. The request was for a car that had stopped working in a residential area. What on earth had happened? There was a light truck there. When the team member checked around the car, he found that the left rear wheel was stuck in the muddy ground caused by the rain. It seemed that the tire had slipped and the car was stuck. The client is a man in his 30s who works in the construction industry. The client said, "There was a ground-breaking ceremony, and about five cars gathered in total, but I parked my car on the site, and when I finished all my work after the ceremony and tried to go home, the tire got stuck." I heard that this is the site where a detached house is planned to be built. During the two hours of the ground-breaking ceremony, which was held to pray for the safety of the construction, the rain made the soil muddy and the car could not be moved out. The client said, "It was a light rain when I parked, but by the time the ceremony was over, it was raining heavily and the ground became muddier and muddier." The man who was in charge of the site stayed behind to clean up, and the heavy rain made the soil muddy during that time. Team member said, "I think it will come out if we pull it out with a winch." In addition to the muddy soil, the rain made it slippery, and it was night and visibility was poor. Team member said, "We need to be extra careful, as there could be unexpected pitfalls, so we will work carefully." The team members connected the tow truck and the car with a wire rope and decided to pull it out. Team member: "I'll wind it up." As the wire rope began to wind up, the car started to move. The left rear wheel also escaped the mud. In about five minutes, we were able to pull it safely to a place that wasn't muddy. Client: "I think we could have taken precautions, like laying a metal plate down first." JAF team members say that even the day after it rains, you should be careful when entering unpaved ground. ■A moment of "looking away"...the surprising reason On this day, the team members headed to Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. There was a car parked on the side of the road. The client was a man in his 50s. What happened? The client: "I hit a curb on my way to work, and the tire was making a rattling noise, so I thought, 'This must be a flat tire,' so I called JAF." When I checked the tire, the air had gone out and it was flat. There were also scratches on the wheel and a large hole on the side of the tire. Video from the dashcam at that time. While going around a gentle curve with good visibility, the car crashed into the curb. Did he feel unwell while driving? Client: "My wife asked me, 'Did you feel dizzy or unwell?' I told her that it wasn't that. I looked away for a moment, and that's when the sound of the car banged." The reason he looked away was surprising to his wife, who was worried about him. Client: "The dashboard was dirty, so I focused on wiping it. I should have stopped, but I was overconfident that I could do it." Looking again at the video of the moment of the crash, the man crashed into the curb right after dripping water from the water bottle. It also showed him hastily letting go of the tissue to wipe the car. Team member: "If the side of the tire is cut, it's difficult to repair, so we have no choice but to change the tire." Since the man's car was front-wheel drive, we attached a rental spare tire to the rear wheel, which was less stressed, and attached the rear tire to the punctured front wheel. The new tire that was scheduled to be replaced later will cost about 20,000 yen. Client: "It's an expense at the end of the year when we're spending a lot of money, so I'm sure my wife has something to say, but all I can say is, 'I'm sorry,' because it was my carelessness." It didn't lead to a serious accident, but please never look away from the road when driving. ■ Muffler fell off Caused by calcium chloride!? In Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, there is a car trouble that you should be careful of in the coming season. Client (40s) "When I was driving, the sound of the car was really loud, so I thought there was a hole in the muffler, and then I started to hear a rattling sound." When I looked under the car, I found that the muffler had fallen off. The client who saw this said the following. Client: "The muffler fell off, so I was like, 'Ahh!'" It seems that all I can do is laugh. Client: "I was using this car in the morning and didn't notice it, so I never thought something like this would happen." He said he had driven from Numata City in northern Gunma Prefecture to Maebashi City to do some shopping. Client: "I was planning to have a barbecue tomorrow, so I came down the mountain after finding some delicious meat in Maebashi. It's embarrassing, but I wish I had noticed it before it got to this point." What on earth caused the muffler to fall off? Team member: "The bolts must have deteriorated due to rust." Indeed, upon closer inspection, the fallen muffler was in tatters from rust. The reason it had become so rusted was due to something that is used in the winter. Team member: "Calcium chloride in the snow in winter causes rust. People who go to ski resorts always pick up a little bit." During times of heavy snowfall, you often see calcium chloride being spread on the roads to prevent freezing. It is said that this calcium chloride causes rust. Team member: "Since it's called chloride, it contains salt, which causes the iron to rust." When traveling to areas with a lot of snow, JAF recommends that you not only put on studless tires, but also wash the underside of your vehicle as soon as you get home. The client said, "I regret that I should have maintained it more regularly." As a JAF member, he paid 10,850 yen for towing, and it cost over 200,000 yen to replace the muffler. ■Since when? Driving without noticing a flat tire At 4pm, in a residential area of ​​Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, a mother and daughter called out for help. ...Click here for the rest of the article and other news! [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp