Just Getting Out of Car May Cause a Jolt
Question: I have a peculiar problem with my 1988 Toyota Corolla SR5 sports coupe. I get static-electricity shocks when I’m disembarking, and I can’t figure out how to stop them. The jolt is especially nasty if I inadvertently rub along the seat as I get out. Nowadays I push the door open with my foot to leave--and shut it with my foot once I’m out of the car. Not that these measures save me. After I’ve gotten out, I sometimes get zapped by the next metal thing I touch. Help!--J.P.
Answer: The static electricity charge is coming from friction between your body and the upholstery and carpeting inside the passenger compartment, not from the car’s electrical system.
The seat fabric and carpeting are synthetic materials that can cause static electricity build-up when your clothing rubs against them, especially in dry weather. If you wear a lot of polyester, nylon, silk and wool clothes, the problem will be much worse, because those materials create much larger static charges than cotton.
The problem has also grown worse with newer cars, because most of the knobs, dials, switches and other parts on the dashboard are made of plastic, which does not conduct electricity. As a result, you tend not to dissipate the static charge while you are in the car. Even the inside door handle is made of plastic. So it isn’t until you touch the outside metal door handle that you suddenly throw off all the static charge that you have built up--and that can be quite uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, the solution is not very simple. This is a perfect example of a problem that is a major inconvenience to a new-car buyer and should be an obvious deficiency to the automobile manufacturer. Nonetheless, you’re on your own.
Static charge is a big problem at electronics plants, where workers have to wear wrist straps grounded to their metal benches (for constantly discharging static electricity) to avoid damage to sensitive electronic parts.
If the problem is a major concern to you, you may want to buy a wrist strap from an electronics supply store and ground it to the car’s frame. It might look weird but it should work. Alternatively, you might try to find a metal object in the car that you can touch occasionally to dissipate the charge.
Q: I will be traveling about 8,000 or 9,000 miles this summer on vacation. Please suggest options regarding a car rental. What should I look for in the condition of a rental car?--T.C.
A: The question is a good one because sometimes the mechanical condition of rental cars is deplorable. I once rented a hatchback in Denver for a trip to the Rocky Mountains, but I only got about five miles from the airport before the engine stopped. It turned out that there wasn’t any oil in it.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to guarantee that you won’t have trouble. You should make sure all the systems are working and that you don’t have any obvious problems. The one suggestion I would offer is to rent a car from an agency that has an extensive dealer network, so that if the car does break down, you can get it replaced fairly quickly.
