You're kind of an angry little guy, eh? You should have focused that anger into something more productive like paying attention. You would have noticed that I mentioned it was my wife driving, not me. Now while I assume you've spent many years only devoting your time to one thing -- that being working on cars, as opposed to developing social skills -- she did not (she raised kids, painted, became a seamstress, remodeled homes, read books...) Hence she is not a mechanic. The check engine light did not come on until a majority of her trip was over. Prior to that there was a loss of power that still allowed her to drive the vehicle. For much of the trip she was driving through the mountains -- by herself, I might add -- at night. Hence, she could get the car worked checked even if she had been aware that there was something seriously wrong. Furthermore, as for it not being the installers fault I can only imagine that the reason you would defend a mechanic who installed a part so poorly that it fell off is because it's a reflection your own handiwork.