Driving on the road can give you great pleasure, but it also has perils. Sometimes the car breaks down, and you don’t know what to do. It is beneficial to be prepared for such an event with some valuable tips to help you in your time of need. Cars usually break if they have been used a lot. The engine works hard, and it can get overheated or even stop working for some time. However, there are other reasons why the car breaks down: wet weather, incorrect use of oil, lousy gasoline quality, lack of proper care after an accident, and many others.
Fortunately, there are various things that you can do when your car breaks down. Here are some valuable tips:
Use Best Car Parts
When your car breaks down, it is imperative to avoid further damage. Ensure that you are using the best performance car parts for your car. You need to put on the hand brake, remove the ignition key, and set the parking brake if you have one. That will help you to avoid moving your car unexpectedly. Also, it is essential not to turn on any electrical devices in the car because they can give an additional shock to the system and harm all sensitive parts of your vehicle even more.
If something has fallen under the car, don’t try to retrieve it yourself because that could lead to a trap that damages your driving force even more. Instead, you should pull up to some safe place or call for a professional and wait there until your car is fixed.
Be Aware of Traffic Laws
If your car breaks down, you need to know traffic laws. It is crucial to stay in the car, near the driver side door so that cars can easily see you and avoid hitting you in case they are in a great hurry, otherwise try to find some safe place on the side of the road or at least put your hazard lights on. Pull up as far as possible from other cars so that your vehicle does not become an obstacle for them when it breaks down.
From time to time, turn on all electrical devices in your engine just for one minute because that will help cool parts inside the engine. However, do it only after shutting off any cellular device because it can overload voltage systems and harm sensitive devices.
Be Physically and Mentally Ready
After finding a safe place on the side of the road, you need to stay calm and wait for help. It is conducive to having some basic knowledge about cars because that will make your problem more manageable. It will be much easier for you emotionally when you are physically prepared, so try to relax while waiting for maintenance specialists to come over. That could take 30 minutes or even two hours, depending on where exactly your car broke down.
Cars can break down even in the modern days, so it is vital to be prepared for the worst scenario. That means that you should have some tow rope or chain, spare tire, and air pump at hand and know how to change a flat tire. Also, if you know first aid and have a radio receiver with a stroboscope light, you will be able to help yourself and other motorists passing by.
Check Your Gas
To avoid a car breaking down, you need to know how the car works and what can stop it from moving. Make sure that your engine has enough oil, gas, and water in it because if any of these is absent, then the whole system can fail or at least slow down a lot. It would help if you also had a flashlight with spare batteries in your glove compartment so that you could see what’s going on when you’re working under the hood.
If problems appear when driving at night, turn on the headlights because they will help other drivers to notice what’s happening with your car and avoid hitting it if possible. Sometimes cars break down when there are big storms or lots of snowfall outside, so make sure that all windows are closed, and there are no snow, ice, or leaves inside the cabin.
Always Have a First Aid Kit
Cars can break down, and you need to be prepared for that. That means that you should have some tools to change tires if needed and carry a first aid kit because it can save someone’s life in case of an accident. That is very important, especially for those who like to go camping and spend their holidays out of civilization, far from shops and stores where they can buy medicine or medical equipment. Also, always check your car before going on a trip and find out where precisely spare parts are located if something wrong happens during the journey.
Your Location Matters
If you are traveling by yourself, your location matters because it determines how quickly you can be helped. If there is a garage or other car repair shops, it will be much easier for those from the same city as yours. If they notice anything wrong with any components inside your engine, they can easily find necessary spare parts on their market and fix everything very soon, even during one day. However, if your place is far away from any city, this task becomes much more challenging. There is no need to worry because there might be some other garage in the area that can help you with car repair if your car breaks down on the road.
It is a terrible idea to go on a trip in a car that has already broken down. That can make you lose all your items from the trunk if someone decides to steal them and only adds pain and stress at the end of your journey. You don’t want to make anyone wait for hours just because of a flat tire or other equipment problem, so please look around before going on a road trip and save yourself a lot of trouble in advance.
