If you drive a car long enough, it will break down. I don’t mean to bum you out, but this is an irrefutable fact of life. Automobiles have come a long way, but they still require maintenance; and when you don’t maintain your vehicle as well as you should, there will be consequences. The next time your car breaks down, ask yourself these three questions to get back on the road ASAP (and prevent another car breakdown in the future).
1. Did I remember to check in with my senses?
Tune into your senses: sight, smell, sound, and touch.
(Note: I am excluding taste since there isn’t a safe way to use that sense here!)
Look at your dashboard. Is there a check engine light or any other indicator that might reveal what’s happening?
Take a few sniffs. Do you smell anything nasty, rotten, or yucky? If so, how would you describe that scent to a mechanic?
Listen closely. Does it sound like your engine is about to cough up a lung? Are there any other noises that might steer you in the right direction?
Feel your steering wheel. Is it leading you on a straight path, or is it swaying back and forth? (Hint: If it’s the latter, that means you need to check your suspension!)
Don’t merely depend on your senses when you find yourself in a bad situation. Does it come and go at certain times or is it constant? Check in with your senses every time you drive. If you pay enough attention, you’ll observe minor issues before they turn into a major problem.
2. What is the safest way to get out of harm’s way?
There isn’t one “best” way to react when your car breaks down. It all comes down to context.
If you’re on the Interstate, you might have to pull over on the side of the road. If the traffic is crazy, you might want to wait inside your vehicle until help arrives. Don’t become roadkill!
If you’re in the city, do everything in your power to get out of people’s way. Try to steer into a parking lot before your car dies out. Disrupting the flow of traffic is unsafe for you (who wants to get rear-ended?) and annoying for fellow drivers.
Even these hypotheticals are too simplistic to fit every car breakdown. This is why you need to be aware of your surroundings. As soon as your intuition makes you feel like your car is going to cause trouble or breakdown, look around. Analyze potential threats and safety zones before you make a decision that can’t be reversed.
Let’s dig deeper into some potential causes of breakdowns (and how you should respond)…
Flat tire
I don’t recommend changing it yourself unless you absolutely MUST due to work or another commitment that you can’t avoid. It’s better to get a can of Fix a Flat and drive to an auto shop near you, or have the professionals do their job and come to change it (or just get a tow).
I know it’s empowering to be able to do it, but the risks outweigh the reward. If you don’t jack your car up properly, the jack can slip or bend, causing the car to fall (and squash you). I don’t know about you, but I can live without knowing what it feels like when a thousand plus pounds collapses on my hand!
Dead battery
First of all, you should invest in jumper cables. They even make boosters that can give you a “jump” without connecting to another battery. This is one of the most important things to have in your car’s emergency kit. Invest in a battery booster and you’ll never have to ask a stranger for a jump again. Talk about a godsend (especially for shy/introverted people!).
Check engine light
This is a tricky situation, because there’s no way to know what needs to be “checked” until you run a diagnostic test. The check engine light could be caused by things as minor as a loose gas cap (cost: $0) and as major as a broken catalytic converter (cost: $1,000+).
While it appears “safe to drive” despite the check engine light, know that the longer you let that light linger, the more expensive it gets. You need to get your car inspected soon. Click here to discover five common causes of the check engine light.
Overheating engine
Do NOT keep driving when your engine overheats or you’ll regret it. Super high temperatures can cause critical damage to your engine and cost you thousands. Your best bet is to pull over as soon as it becomes safe to do so.
Overheating is often caused by a coolant leak or low coolant. Keep some coolant in your trunk in case you need to refill. That said, if you cannot pull over safely, put the heat on high. It will disburse and pull some of the heat from the engine into the cabin, hopefully buying you some time to get to a safe place. The next stop should be your auto shop.
3. Could I have done something proactive to prevent this?
Cars are like people. They don’t get sick for no reason. Most of the time, illness and disease are a result of our decisions.
People don’t “catch” lung cancer. They develop lung cancer as a result of smoking cigarettes. People don’t “catch” obesity. They develop obesity as a result of eating too many calories.
The catalytic converter is one of the most important emission components of your car. It turns toxic fumes into less harmful substances. You should never have to replace a catalytic converter (not even once), because it’s so easy to prevent this repair.
Catalytic converters aren’t like disgruntled workers. They don’t just decide to quit one day. However, they can’t operate without input from oxygen sensors. In fact, oxygen sensor issues are a common culprit of the check engine light.
Most drivers don’t observe a decline in their car’s performance when an oxygen sensor becomes weak, so they put off a trip to the mechanic until it’s too late for their catalytic converter. This turns a basic $200 repair into a complex $1,000+ one.
Repairs due to neglect can be prevented. It’s easy! All you have to do is follow the maintenance guidelines inside your owner’s manual. You can download an online copy for free at Edmund’s. If you follow those suggestions, you’ll easily avoid the problems that could cause a car breakdown.