After buying your new good car, you begin thinking of situations that could make your car break down and how to get yourself out of such circumstances. Here are 5 situations and their remedies when good cars go bad:
The engine suddenly stops running. Main indicators such as a tachometer that shows the speed of rotation and the fact that you can no longer hear any noise from the engine.
What just happened? a variety of possible problems. You could have run out of gas the battery ran out of power, or there could be an electrical problem. you also could have shut off the car accidentally by bumping the ignition key with your knee. Not Unless you have Fred Flintstones car can you keep driving. No engine, no go.
Remedy: Be careful! Without the engine, there will be no power-assist to the steering or brakes. Both will be very sluggish and stiff. Get off the road as quickly as possible. Once you have come to a complete stop, try to detect the problem. If you ran out of gas, you might be able to walk to a gas station. If the battery is dead, you might be able to jump-start it. Otherwise, call a breakdown truck.
You hear a loud bang and the car suddenly becomes unstable; you notice how the car wants to continually pull in one direction.
What just happened? Most likely, a flat tyre or a blow-out. A flat tyre happens when a car runs over road debris, causing it to slowly lose air. A tyre blow-out means the tyre suffered a harmful structural failure.
It is definitely not a good idea to keep on driving on a blown tyre. A blown tyre, especially if it is a front tyre, makes a carvery unstable, meaning that braking and handling abilities are greatly reduced. Braking effectiveness is severely reduced, as is the car's handling. Driving on a blown tyre will soon cause the tyre to come off the wheel completely, meaning that the wheel will be in contact with the ground.
Remedy: Pull off the road as soon as safely possible. Inspect the blown tyre. If is is washed, replace it with a spare. If is is just flat, you can replace it with the spare tyre or use a can of tyre sealant.
The temperature gauge suddenly rises into the red zone; the coolant warning light illuminates.
What has just happened? Your engine is over-heating. Possible causes include: a loose or blown radiator hose, stuck thermostat, a tossed serpentine belt or a damaged radiator. It could also be due to overtaxing the coolant system in hot weather conditions.
It's not advisable to keep driving, as you may do further damage. There might be a little time buffer, but realistically, you will want to stop driving as soon as possible.
Remedy: Exit the road as soon as possible. Overheating the engine can cause extensive damage. Turn off the engine as soon as you are stopped. If the overheating was simply due to environmental conditions, you might be able to let the car cool down, refill the radiator with coolant and continue. Otherwise attempt to make out the problem or call a two truck.
Electrical system warning light illuminates.
What has just happened? There could be a problem with the charging system, such as a tossed drive belt for the alternator.
Can you keep driving? Yes, as long as the car keeps running. Be aware that the car might not run for much longer since the battery is being drained with little or no chance of recharge. some cars have gauges that show the status of the electrical system.
You see or smell smoke; an engine oil light illuminates; the oil pressure gauge drops to the red zone.
What has just happened? Something is wrong with the engine's oil supply or circulation. If you see or smell smoke, then oil is most likely leaking somewhere where it shouldn't and then burning off (your car could be on fire, too, but let's not think about that). Low oil pressure is caused by either a significant loss of oil i.e the oil pan was punctured, or a problem with the oil pump.
Yes, you can drive but it is not recommended. The longer you drive, the more you increase the chance of causing major damage to the engine. Keep going, and you may end up with problems with electrical system! To be safe, you will want to get off the road as soon as you get the chance.
Remedy: Pull over and stop the car. check the car's oil supply. If it is low, refill it. Attempt to find out the original problem. It could be something insignificant, like leaving the oil fill cap off or spilled oil from an oil change burning off a hot engine part. If you were unable to fill up the oil, you should drive to the nearest dealer or repair facility. Otherwise call the breakdown truck.
The engine suddenly stops running. Main indicators such as a tachometer that shows the speed of rotation and the fact that you can no longer hear any noise from the engine.
What just happened? a variety of possible problems. You could have run out of gas the battery ran out of power, or there could be an electrical problem. you also could have shut off the car accidentally by bumping the ignition key with your knee. Not Unless you have Fred Flintstones car can you keep driving. No engine, no go.
Remedy: Be careful! Without the engine, there will be no power-assist to the steering or brakes. Both will be very sluggish and stiff. Get off the road as quickly as possible. Once you have come to a complete stop, try to detect the problem. If you ran out of gas, you might be able to walk to a gas station. If the battery is dead, you might be able to jump-start it. Otherwise, call a breakdown truck.
You hear a loud bang and the car suddenly becomes unstable; you notice how the car wants to continually pull in one direction.
It is definitely not a good idea to keep on driving on a blown tyre. A blown tyre, especially if it is a front tyre, makes a carvery unstable, meaning that braking and handling abilities are greatly reduced. Braking effectiveness is severely reduced, as is the car's handling. Driving on a blown tyre will soon cause the tyre to come off the wheel completely, meaning that the wheel will be in contact with the ground.
Remedy: Pull off the road as soon as safely possible. Inspect the blown tyre. If is is washed, replace it with a spare. If is is just flat, you can replace it with the spare tyre or use a can of tyre sealant.
The temperature gauge suddenly rises into the red zone; the coolant warning light illuminates.
What has just happened? Your engine is over-heating. Possible causes include: a loose or blown radiator hose, stuck thermostat, a tossed serpentine belt or a damaged radiator. It could also be due to overtaxing the coolant system in hot weather conditions.
It's not advisable to keep driving, as you may do further damage. There might be a little time buffer, but realistically, you will want to stop driving as soon as possible.
Remedy: Exit the road as soon as possible. Overheating the engine can cause extensive damage. Turn off the engine as soon as you are stopped. If the overheating was simply due to environmental conditions, you might be able to let the car cool down, refill the radiator with coolant and continue. Otherwise attempt to make out the problem or call a two truck.
Electrical system warning light illuminates.
What has just happened? There could be a problem with the charging system, such as a tossed drive belt for the alternator.
Can you keep driving? Yes, as long as the car keeps running. Be aware that the car might not run for much longer since the battery is being drained with little or no chance of recharge. some cars have gauges that show the status of the electrical system.
You see or smell smoke; an engine oil light illuminates; the oil pressure gauge drops to the red zone.
What has just happened? Something is wrong with the engine's oil supply or circulation. If you see or smell smoke, then oil is most likely leaking somewhere where it shouldn't and then burning off (your car could be on fire, too, but let's not think about that). Low oil pressure is caused by either a significant loss of oil i.e the oil pan was punctured, or a problem with the oil pump.
Yes, you can drive but it is not recommended. The longer you drive, the more you increase the chance of causing major damage to the engine. Keep going, and you may end up with problems with electrical system! To be safe, you will want to get off the road as soon as you get the chance.
Remedy: Pull over and stop the car. check the car's oil supply. If it is low, refill it. Attempt to find out the original problem. It could be something insignificant, like leaving the oil fill cap off or spilled oil from an oil change burning off a hot engine part. If you were unable to fill up the oil, you should drive to the nearest dealer or repair facility. Otherwise call the breakdown truck.
What is the relation between fuel consumption and the air conditioner? I have heard that turning on the AC increases fuel consumption.
ReplyDelete@Oscar The AC saps engine power to run, thus increasing consumption. Remember, an increase in consumption is intense at the pump, it could be the car doing less work than it should under same conditions, that is, if your car loses power. It is rarely noticeable when driving, but approximations of 8% increase are common.
ReplyDeleteI bought a nissan Wingrod a year ago. Being my first car, I'm not sure if the rims are correct or not. Mostly, I have been having problems with the tyres. I'm nost sure if the car came with these tyres or they were changed when it was been cleared. If I have to change the rims, which are the most suitable rims or tyres to go for?
ReplyDelete@Alex Go for any high profile tyre. For example, the 215/45/17 rims which means. 215 is the tyre width, in mm.45 is the aspect ratio of the tyre width to tyre wall thickness. in this case, the tyre wall is 0.45 the tyre width, which was 245 mm, so the tyre wall is 110mm thick.17 is the rim size in inches. Most of Japanese cars can handle a rim size as small as 15 inches, but what you need to look out for is the aspect ratio. Anything greater than 50 will be good enough.
ReplyDelete