Roadside Breakdown: What to Do While You Wait for Help
Get off the road first
If the car's still rolling, get it onto the shoulder or off the freeway at the next exit, even if it's running rough. A broken-down car a kilometre down the road is safer than one stopped in a live lane, and a moving car is a car the traffic can see. If it's stopped, hazard lights on straight away. On a freeway, stay in the car with the seatbelt on if the traffic's too close to get out safely, because standing beside a car on the freeway is where people get hit. If there's a barrier, get behind it, not between the car and the barrier. Your life's worth more than the car, and the car's replaceable.
Call and give the right details
Call us on 03 9193 6500 or your roadside assistance provider. Give your location, the nearest exit or the emergency marker number on the freeway, the car's make and rego, and what happened. If you're in a dangerous spot, say so, because the priority's your safety, not the car, and a car in a live lane needs a tow truck now, not later. Use your maps app to drop a pin if you don't know where you are. The more we know before we head out, the faster we get you off the road and the car sorted, whether that's a jump start, a fuel delivery, or a tow to the workshop.
Don't make it worse
If you're not confident under the bonnet, don't open it on the side of the road. A hot engine has moving parts and pressurised coolant that'll burn. A tyre change on a narrow shoulder with traffic passing at speed is a risk that's not worth the ten minutes saved. Wait for help. The exception is a safe, flat, off-road spot where you can change a wheel without being near traffic. If the car's overheating, switch off and let it cool before you check anything, because a hot radiator cap will spray scalding coolant under pressure, and that's a burn that ruins your week.
What we find when we get there
Most roadside calls are the same handful of causes. A flat battery that won't take a jump because it's past it, a split radiator hose that's dumped the coolant, a failed alternator that's run the car flat, or an ignored warning light that became a breakdown. Sometimes it's fuel, and sometimes it's a fault that's been brewing for weeks and the owner drove on the light because it cleared last time. We get you going if we can, and if it needs the workshop, we tow it in and find the cause on the bench where it's safe to pull it apart.
Stop the next one before it starts
Almost every breakdown we attend is preventable. The battery that was cranking slow for a month, the hose that was perished at the last service, the brake that was grinding, the warning light that came on and went off. Regular servicing catches the part before it fails. Have the battery load-tested, the hoses checked, the coolant fresh, and the warning lights diagnosed when they come on, not when the car stops. A service is cheaper than a tow, a tow's cheaper than a crash, and a crash's the one you can't pay your way out of.
The warning you missed
Most breakdowns give you a warning first. A battery cranks slow for a week before it dies. A hose bulges before it bursts. An alternator makes the lights dim at idle before it stops charging. The warning's there, and it's usually ignored because it goes away when the car's warm or the revs come up. We tell customers to act on the warning, because the warning goes away and then the car stops, and the car stopping is the one that costs you the tow and the taxi and the day off work. If it was the battery, our battery guide explains the cause.
Key Takeaway
Stuck on the side of the road? Call PRD Automotive on 03 9193 6500 and we'll get you moving or get it towed in. Then book a service and stop the next one before it starts.
Have a Question About Your Car?
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