I was on a road trip with two of my sisters. We’ve been across the top of the country and have visited several National Parks. We visited friends of mine in Oregon and our brother and his family in Southern California. The car was fine all the way across the country from Florida to Ohio to Wisconsin to Oregon.

Nobody seemed to be able to fix the problem the damned 2017 Hyundai Sonata was having that my sister was driving us in. The problem started with either bad gas or a vapor lock and stranded us on a highway just outside of Medford OR. Since the car is under warranty, we went to the closest Hyundai dealer. We used up two of my AAA tows for that one because the car had to be stored at the tow yard overnight and then towed to the dealership in the morning. The tow driver dropped up off at a La Quinta after determining that they had a room available. The dealership got us on the road that day, but they failed to replace the dipstick they removed to check the oil.

The car had worked fine while we were in California and we headed out for Las Vegas. We spent five days at our brother’s but since two of us are allergic to dogs and he has four big ones, we had to leave earlier than we planned. California was a lot cloudier and colder than we expected with temperatures in the mid-60’s. We had packed for warm, sunny California.

Once in Las Vegas, the car seemed to work fine. We saw sights, took in a show and decided to head for home via Salt Lake City where our sister wanted to show us around. The second time the car failed happened right after we stopped for gas before leaving Las Vegas.

The car started sputtering and shaking. We barely made it onto the shoulder before the car died. We had to call the state cops who blocked the right hand lane because otherwise we might’ve gotten side-swiped by a semi, we were that close to the road. It cost me another tow. All this time my sister was claiming her roadside assistance as accidentally canceled.

The car was towed to a Hyundai dealership. The second dealership had to keep the car overnight. We got towed there late in the day and they couldn’t get to it until the next day. They called a Lyft to take us to Enterprise car rental so we’d have transportation. We made arrangements for a room at a casino in Downtown Las Vegas. We got a cheap rate for a Monday night.

The next day, we vacated the hotel room and drove to the dealership. They had not figured out what the problem was. The diagnostic computer couldn’t find the problem. One of their techs took the car out and drove it, but no problems showed up. They told us it was probably just a vapor lock and not to overfill the gas.

So we transferred our luggage and stuff from the rental to the care and went to turn in the rental. After that, we stopped to get some water and prepared to get on the road.

And the car died 100 yards away, while we were crossing the parking lot. We waited in the nice hot Vegas heat for two hours for the new tow. Mostly listening to my sister rant on the phone to Hyundai Customer Care and the second dealer did not replace the dipstick either because they were out. While my sister was talking to Hyundai Customer Service – big guts, not the locals, she found out she did have towing. Thanks a lot, because I’m out and if I need a tow before my next renewal in March, I’ll have to pay. She said she would reimburse me, but I honestly have no hope of that happening.

So there I was with my sisters in the third hotel we’ve been in, in Las Vegas, living in a bizarre remake of “Groundhog Day” minus Bill Murray, with the hotels changing every second time I wake up. Luckily we extended our stay another day because the car still is not ready. Maybe tomorrow. I kept hoping that I’ll wake up in my own bed having dreamed this entire road trip.

Home now. Finally. I decided to drive the car after the GPS took my sister off the highway and routed her 30 miles off-course because of construction on a section of the highway to my house. I hadn’t been paying attention and looked up from my book to find her driving around some small town.