I wanted to post my weekend experience because bits and pieces of it have happened to others but I couldn't find anything on all 3 circumstances as a result of a detail.
It was 60 degrees in Chicago last Friday, I left the car at a detail shop, they were instructed to clay bar, detail the inside and out, the full works. I made the grave mistake of not noticing they include engine cleaning in that work up. When I picked up the car, the hood was up, the engine was running, the heat was on full blast and the windows were closed. WTF were they doing? trying to dry the carpets I assumed. I shut her off, closed the hood, opened the doors, put her back together, did an inspection and she looked fine. It was time to go, and I wanted to drive. Not 2 minutes in, I noticed the dreaded "sticky" steering issue. And I'd remembered when it gets too hot, this is a symptom. But that's all I'd remembered because I dont live in TX or AZ, so I thought I'd never have ever experienced it. Talk about a crappy drive. Ok, so it will go away once the oils have cooled right? 5 minutes out of the garage, already on the expressway, I notice no other handling issues other than the steering, and what happens next? the check engine light comes on and the temperature gauge is pinned to red. I'm completely freaked out. I pull over, shut her off and call the detail shop [waste of time] they assure me its OK to drive home...
I have no one to call, and I still live 15 minutes away. I took a chance, started her up, and got off the expressway. She made it home without incident. At this point any number of things could have been wrong or gone wrong. I opened the hood, put a large clean cardboard box under the engine to catch any fluids leaking, and let her cool off for 2 days [I was busy the next day anyway I couldn't drive].
Sunday comes and it's time to check. Looked at the box, no fluids. Looked at the engine bay, clean as a whistle. Started her up, check engine was still on. I had a few choices at this point. I disconnected the battery, waited a minute, and reconnected. Started her up and drove her 5 minutes to the store, the engine light was now on, but she wasn't throwing any codes.
Ok I thought, ill hit the local auto parts store and see if they can pull anything after the grocery store, it was in the neighboring strip mall.
By the time I got out of the grocery store, the engine light was off, the windows had reset themselves, and after driving for another 30 minutes the temp gauge was fine. Also I need to mention the steering had gone back to being smooth as silk. I'm a new owner and most veterans may have experienced all of this before but I thought I would post the outcome anyway.