All posts tagged auto break down

Car Keeps Breaking down? 4 Steps to Take Before Giving up on Your Vehicle

car jack

No matter how close your bond is with your car, it can be frustrating to have to take it to the auto shop on a seemingly weekly basis. Even if you believe that your car has nowhere to go but the junkyard, it might have more life than you realize. Here are four steps to take before giving up on your vehicle.

Oil Changes

If your engine seems to be frequently misbehaving, it might be due to not changing oil at the proper rate. This should be done at a rate of around every 5,000 miles driven or in six-month intervals. When you bring your vehicle to a repair shop to get your oil changed, you can help the mechanics notice any other issues that might need to be addressed. By bringing new oil into your car, you can help it to run as smoothly as possible. It’s an easy solution that’s easy to take care of.

Replacing Parts

A car doesn’t typically stop working all at once. It can often be an important part, such as the battery or the transmission, that goes bust. Instead of just throwing the car out, you should replace the part. Once you have the replacement part installed, you can bring the old one to a scrapyard. Just think about how much better your car could run with a new battery.

Driving More Carefully

How you drive can make a big difference in how long your car lasts. If you’re driving erratically, it’s going to decrease the lifespan significantly. This includes speeding, slamming on the brakes, and not taking weather conditions into proper account. Driving carefully should be considered a must no matter what, but the ability to keep your car going should be even more motivation.

Address Issues Early

If you sense something is going wrong with your car, take care of it immediately. A strange sound from your engine or strange smell from your exhaust pipe shouldn’t be ignored. The more you sit on a problem, the worse it tends to get.

When you figure out a way to extend your car’s lifespan, you can feel better in a number of ways. You can feel better for knowing that you can save money on a new car. You can feel better for knowing you can solve a problem effectively. Finally, you can feel better knowing that you can hold onto your car longer.

Teen Driving: What to do When Your Car Breaks Down

There is nothing worse than having your car breakdown on the road. Not only does it make you unable to get to your destination as planned, but it’s also very scary. This is especially true for teenagers. Many don’t know the proper way to react to such an occurrence. Check out some tips for teenagers on what to do when your car breaks down:

1. Get Your Car Off the Road

As soon as you notice that your car isn’t working right, pull over to the side of the road. Remember, most vehicles don’t just stop working altogether. Instead, you usually have a short timeframe where you can drive your car safely off the road. Then, once you get to the side of the road, make sure you put your car in park. Then, flip on the emergency brake and turn your steering wheel in the opposite direction of the road. All these steps will help prevent your car from rolling out into the traffic. You should always put your hazard lights on too. This will alert the other drivers that you are experiencing car issues.

2. Call for Help

Thankfully in today’s society, practically every teenager has a working cell phone. That means when your car stops working, it’s time to pick up your phone and call for help. This can be a roadside assistance business like OnStar FMV or AAA or a local towing company such as Mike’s Auto Towing. Either way, these are qualified individuals who can talk you through your situation and offer advice on what to do next. They will know how to fix this issue so that you remain safe.

Depending on the severity of the situation of when you are pulled over, you might also consider calling the state highway patrol. They will help keep you safe and get you back on the road as soon as possible. Their emergency lights can help slow down oncoming traffic as well and help create safer surroundings. Once you have sent for help, the best thing you can do at this point is get back in your car and wait. Waiting inside of the car is the safest place you can be rather than standing next to it on the side of the road.

3. Let Other Drivers Know Your Experiencing Car Trouble

As mentioned earlier, you want to let the other drivers know that you are dealing with car trouble. Putting on your hazard lights are definitely the first step, but that’s usually not enough to fully get the point across. For instance, you could have simply pulled over to make a phone call. Instead, if you can, get out of the car and put down some road flares. You should put a few of these roughly 50 feet behind your vehicle. Besides this, you should raise the hood of your car and leave it up until help arrives.

Unfortunately when many teenagers experience car trouble, they don’t know how to react. Instead of making the right and safe move, they act foolishly. Car trouble is not something to take lightly. However, with these tips in mind, teenagers will be in good hands when the unexpected happens.