Dolly Parton Saves the Day as a Philadelphia Woman Claims One of Her Songs Helps Start Her 2009 CR-V: ‘Gotta Sing to It’
Try explaining this to your mechanic.
A Philadelphia woman appeared to discover an unusual trick for starting her 2009 Honda CR-V: Sing Dolly Parton. TikTok creator BalanceByGina (@BalanceByGina) shared a video showing her attempt to start the vehicle at 5 a.m.
In the video, Gina tries to start the Honda several times. After the attempts fail, she says, “You gotta sing to it. That’s what you gotta do.” She sings to it, but the car still won’t turn over. She then sings Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” Shortly afterward, the CR-V starts. The video is just one of many she’s shared about starting issues with the vehicle.
The timing makes for a funny TikTok moment. Gina doesn’t explain whether she seriously believes singing helps the CR-V or whether she is joking about an apparent quirk with the aging SUV.
The CR-V’s starting issue, Parton not involved.
Gina’s suggestion that singing might help start the CR-V could be viewed as a superstition. Cambridge Dictionary defines superstition as a belief not based on reason or scientific knowledge and connects events to ideas such as magic.
In this case, the perceived connection is straightforward: The CR-V refuses to start, Gina sings, and the vehicle starts. That sequence does not establish that the singing fixed the vehicle. The CR-V could have started after several attempts, particularly if it has an intermittent starting problem. Reports from 2009 CR-V owners also point to starting and electrical problems with the model.
Honda’s owner’s manual for the 2009 CR-V says that a vehicle that will not start can have several possible causes. Honda recommends checking the battery, battery connections, fuses, and electrical circuits when the starter turns slowly or fails to operate.
RepairPal lists a dead battery, an alternator problem, or a failed starter as possible causes of a 2009 CR-V that will not start. The site also identifies battery cables, the starter solenoid, and other components as potential sources of starting problems.
Owner-reported data includes at least one starter-failure complaint for the 2009 CR-V. CarComplaints also lists three complaints involving batteries not holding a charge for the model year.
Gina’s video does not provide enough information to diagnose the problem, and the comments on the post offer competing theories. One commenter wrote, “Girl I think your starter is shot.” Another suggested, “Friend is the battery, change it!” A third commenter identified herself as another 2009 CR-V owner and wrote, “From another 09 CRV baddie… I change my starter every 2 years it always goes.”
Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” in 1973. The song later became famous through Whitney Houston’s 1992 recording for “The Bodyguard.” So, did Parton save the day in Philadelphia?
Gina’s CR-V starts after she sings “I Will Always Love You,” but the video does not prove, of course, that the song had anything to do with it. The timing is surely coincidental. Even still, Gina’s advice remains considerably more entertaining than a trip to the mechanic: “You gotta sing to it.” And not just sing, but sing one of Parton’s biggest hits.
The Mary Sue reached out to Gina for comment and will update this article if she responds. In other Parton news, the country singer recently died, and shortly after her funeral, reports emerged that someone vandalized her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
