BBQ Chicken or Car...

I had a bit of a scare with little Brett Pugsly - aka. My Car - on Tuesday night.

It happened whilst I was sitting in the Red Rooster drive-thru, waiting for our cheap chicken. It was freezing cold, the car was in neutral, the heater was up as high as it would go and the fan was as high as that could go. Basically - the inside of the car was extremely toasty.

All of a sudden I smelled smoke.

At first, I thought - Funny smelling chicken.
At second, I thought - that's not chicken.
At third, I realised - That's my car!

Sure enough, there was smoke coming out from under the bonnet. Oh-Oh.

I quickly turned off the heater and the fan and, for some reason, took it out of neutral. WT? Seriously, I know so much about cars...

Soon after, the smoke cleared and so did the smell. When I got home - with both me and the car in one piece - I checked under the hood. Yep, there was an engine.

Yesterday, Andrew convinced me - very dramatically ;) - to get it checked out. Gees, I was going to anyway...

So, Brett Pugsly went to visit the mechanics at Brakes Plus today. I explained what had happened and the questions began, including:

Q: "Was it a Eucalyptus smell?"
This question had me baffled for a second. However, all became clear when it was explained that it is quite common for leaves to get caught in the vents and if they get into a particular spot they can burn.
A: "Umm... [teeth chattering]... not sure. I can't... [teeth chattering]... really remember."

Q: "Has it happened since?"
(Fair question)
A: "No.... [teeth chattering]..."

Q: "You haven't turned the heater on again, have you?"
Not real sure how he knew that. Perhaps it was me getting out of the car and standing in their office bundled up in a jacket and a scarf.
A: "Umm, No..."

Turns out it was some stray leaves. The guys cleared them out and now I am free to use the heater - no problems what-so-ever. Shiny.

I love a happy ending to a visit to the mechanics.