What should I do if my car stops while driving? Follow these simple steps:
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- Remain calm
- Pull over to the side of the road
- Try restarting your vehicle
- Engage with the emergency flashers
- Reach out for help
- Understand what causes the issue
- Fix the faulty component
Vehicle starting problems are very frustrating. However, things get extremely challenging and heart-pounding when your vehicle stops suddenly while driving. It gets you extremely nervous, and you won't know what to do, especially if you're driving during traffic or on the highway.
Being proactive about the problem is extremely important, and one of the first things you must do is understand what you should do if your car stops driving. In addition, there are specific steps that you must follow to prevent dealing with safety issues and to get you out of this situation without any problems.
This article provides a detailed step-by-step guide to help you answer the question, what should I do if my car stops while driving? Read on for more details!
What should I do if my car stops while driving?
Have you ever been in a situation where you're driving just fine in the traffic, and suddenly your car decides to stop! Unfortunately, this is a very common situation, and many of our readers reach out to us looking for help. First, of course, you must understand what to do to get out of this situation but what's more important is to understand what causes the problem and resolve it, so it doesn't happen again.
If you're asking yourself, what should I do if my car stops while driving, follow this step-by-step guidance:
1. Remain calm
The first and most important advice we would like to give you is to stay as calm as possible if you really understand that this situation is extremely frustrating and can cause lots of panic and nervousness. However, this will not help you at all; it will add more stress and make you make the wrong decisions.
The more you are, the more you will make knowledge-based decisions rather than rushing things, getting yourself hurt, or probably bumping into other people's cars, which could cause significant outcomes that you never want to deal with.
2. Pull over to the side of the road
Yes, we understand that your vehicle stopped suddenly while driving. However, you might still be able to guide your vehicle to the side of your road. The brakes, the searing, and all these components should help you get your vehicle out of the middle of the street.
If you're driving on the side lanes, you should be able to safely get your vehicle out of that right way. However, if you're driving in the middle lane and if there are two lanes on each side, things get a little bit challenging, and that's where you must be very careful about how you got your vehicle outside of the road to the site.
You might want to use some signals and try to bring other people's attention, so they don't hit you by mistake. Here many people are extremely helpful and will provide you with some help and try to clear out the Rotary you. We've seen many videos on youtube about heroic people who help and push the vehicle out of the road, and you'll find many of those.
Sometimes it might take you a while until you figure out how to get out of the road, but there are plenty of police officers and others who might help you get out of this situation.
3. Try restarting your vehicle
Even if you're asking, what should I do if my car stops while driving? First, you might still be able to restart your car. It could be a simple glitch or an early sign of potential damages in your starting system, but it doesn't mean your vehicle is completely failing.
Therefore, the next step is to try restarting your car multiple times. Let's see if this helps. If it works, the new good tool and you can move forward to the next steps without worrying about too many things. However, if this didn't help, you might need to request some help that could cost you a little bit, especially if you're dealing with a towing service and other types of services.
4. Engage with the emergency flashers
When you're in the middle of traffic, and especially if you're driving on the highway, it can be extremely challenging for people to see you. So the first and most important thing you want is to make sure that everybody can see you clearly so no one bumps into you and no one calls is further complications that could lead to major car crashes and other injuries.
Therefore, consider engaging the emergency flashers. If you have any means to help me be as clear as possible about the upcoming traffic, try using as many of these as possible. In addition, many online articles could help you learn what to do to bring other people's attention and prevent people from seeing you in traffic during emergencies.
5. Reach out for help
At this point, you might have tried restarting your car, and things didn't work; the next step is to reach out for help. You can rely on a family member or friend who is close by and willing to come and provide you with some help. But we highly encourage you to reach out to professionals or a specific service that will come and provide you with some help. In other words, if your family member or friend came to the location, what are they going to do? They're going to try restarting your car but will not be able to move your vehicle an inch.
Therefore, check with your insurance company and see if you have additional services like those related to roadside assistance, or you can probably request a private company here. There are plenty out there who can come and check your car. However, if you don't want to deal with all this hassle and prefer to work with your mechanic, you can request the towing service and good reveals of the nearest repair shop or dealership.
6. Understand what causes the issue
The worst thing you want to do is ignore the issue after resolving the problem. In other words, if you could restart your car after it stopped working in the middle of the traffic, you don't want to forget about the problem because it could be an early sign of future major complications.
Therefore, you must consult your mechanic and explain the situation carefully. In addition, you want your mechanic to thoroughly inspect all potential culprits that could cause your vehicle to stop while driving.
There are many potential culprits that could cause the problem. For example, you might be dealing with a bad battery, alternator, battery cables, starter motor, ignition switch, timing belt, etc. Many potential culprits could cause your vehicle to stop while driving. Therefore, it can be hard for you as an average driver to understand what exactly is going on, and your mechanic should look at all of these and confirm that there is nothing wrong still before you move forward and drive your vehicle again.
7. Fix the faulty component
Once your mechanic pinpoints the actual state culprit causing your vehicle to stop while driving, the next step is to fix this problem. No matter how much it'll cost you, it is extremely dangerous to continue driving your car if it has a problem and causes you to wonder what you should do if your car stops while driving?
Remember that you must develop the situation carefully before spending a penny. Sometimes fixing the problem might require thousands of dollars on your pair, and that's where you must determine whether it's worth fixing your car or not. You might end up with the point that you must sell this vehicle and purchase a better one. If that's the case, you can always consult a cash car buyer who guarantees to buy your car no matter its type or condition. All you have to do is consult our team at 866-924-4608!
How much does it cost to fix my car if it stops driving?
It all depends. As we mentioned earlier, a wide range of potential culprits could cause your vehicle to stop while driving. In addition, the repair costs will differ significantly depending on your vehicle type and the location where you get the job done.
For example, if you're dealing with a bad battery causing the issue, you can simply install a new one. However, replacing the battery requires somewhere between $45 and $250. Of course, this price range differs significantly depending on who will do the job for you. If you are comfortable doing it yourself, you mustn't worry about labor costs. However, if you decide to go to a dealership, that's when labor costs can be a big component.
On the other hand, costs can differ slightly if the issue has to do with a bad alternator or repair. For example, you might expect to pay between $350 and $400.
Repair costs can be slightly higher if the culprit is the timing belt. Typically, replacing the timing belt should cost somewhere between $300 and $500.
Finally, if your vehicle stops driving because of a significant problem related to the engine, that's when numbers increase significantly. Typically, replacing a bad engine is expected to cost somewhere between$3000 and $5000. Many luxury vehicles require extremely higher repair costs, and they could easily get up to $10,000 in some instances.
How to prevent my car from stopping while driving?
The easiest solution for preventing this situation is to follow your vehicle’s owner’s manual. Your manual should recommend when to replace important components and how often. It should tell you, for example, how often you should replace the alternator, the timing belt comes at a battery, etc.
You can also keep an eye on the difference in faulty components. For example, if you're dealing with a bad battery, you'll start noticing other symptoms that could help you pay attention to what's happening. Once you notice these symptoms as early as possible, you should be able to resolve the problem without dealing with the situations where your car stops while driving in the middle of traffic.
Final thoughts
Nothing is more stressful than your vehicle stopping in the middle of traffic! Unfortunately, this situation is expected to happen frequently. Unless you understand what's happening and learn what to do when this happens, you can be involved in very stressful situations that could impact your safety.
This article walks you through step-by-step guidance to help you answer the question, what should I do if my car stops while driving? First, you must resolve the hidden issue, and if it's extremely expensive to be fixed, you will sell this vehicle and purchase a better one. Are you looking for someone to why your car with problems? Check out cash cars buyer!
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