Flat (or dead) Battery:

Reduce the risk of your battery going flat by checking it every two weeks. New batteries are sealed, but if you have an old battery with caps, be sure to check the fill level and fill with distilled water (no contaminants to hurt the battery).

Batteries tend to fail due to:

  • Due to Age-Replace the battery
  • You left Lights, radio etc on-take to facility to recharge or
  • Your Alternator is faulty and not charging the battery – You will need to get your alternator checked or replaced.  A common repair, unpleasant but necessary. Alternators tend to last for a long time, so be reassured that it is a good long term fix.

Tyre issues.
About 10% of call outs are related to type damage. Things to look out for:

  • Check tread wear weekly, (the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm).
  • Check tyre pressure as dangers of under inflated tyres can be more than just a flat.
  • Damage to tyres – hitting a pot hole badly can damage tires, rims and shocks. When these elements get damaged, it can compromise the ability to control the steering and brakes.
  • Check for damage from foreign objects.

Keys:
4% of all call outs are due to either locking your keys in the car or losing your car keys. Keep both a spare set of keys and a spare alarm battery in a purse, bag or in a magnetic holder under the car.

Running out of fuel.
With the problems in the global economy and fuel prices pushing people to put less gas in their tanks, lots more people are simply run out of gas. It’s probably the most embarassing, intrusive problem to have, and one that is easily avoided. An additional problem one can have is if their fuel gauge is faulty. Keep in mind the hassle for an empty tank.

Cylinder Head Gasket.
The head gasket can be the most expensive engine fix one does. Usually done very infrequently, it can masquerade as other problems. Often simple stalling with no engine turn over is due to coolant leaking into the pistons disluting the petrol. But it can look like an electrical issue.

Fluids, Brakes and other small preventatives.
Keeping fluids at recommended levels and ensuring changing at regular intervals is always an ounce of prevention to a pound of cure. Check brakes when advised.

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