Reasons Why Your Car Shut Down While Driving Or Parked and Solutions

If a car shuts down, it means that the engine has stopped working for various reasons possible. It can be a result of a mechanical issue or a problem with the air or fuel the car is receiving. The car can shut down at any time and location even after you have started the car or before you start driving. These are the most common reasons why your car may suddenly shut down while driving  or while parked;

• Dead Or Weak Battery:

when the battery of a car is dead, it is impossible to start the car but if the battery is just weak, you may experience shut down due to the alternator being overworked. Before you replace your battery, make sure that a failing alternator is not the main problem.

• Bad Fuel Pump:

The fuel pump could quit or not be working properly and this could affect the engine’s ability to work because it would not get the useful fuel needed to run the car. Therefore the car would not be able to start.

• Faulty Coolant Sensor:

Overheating of a car can cause the vehicle to immediately stop working when the coolant sensor is not working. The sensor may be faulty and give wrong readings that result in the car just stopping while driving.

• Clutch Release Issues:

This can only happen in manual transmission vehicles and it occurs when the driver takes the foot off the clutch while driving without giving it any gas. It can also occur when the driver tries to shift into too high of gear without the RPMs to give support to it. You can just shift to neutral if this should happen and put the clutch then start the engine all over.

• Inadequate Fuel Mixture:

If the fuel mixture is not enough, the car can just quit working and this usually happens when the fuel has not gotten to the engine properly.

Damaged Distributor Cap: If the cap that covers the distributor and sends voltage to the spark plugs has corrosion or is damaged, it can cause the car to stumble during acceleration or the car to just stop working.

Faulty Alternator: The alternator is responsible for charging the battery and running a lot of essential functions in the engine. This means that when the alternator stops working, the engine of the car too would stop working which will make the car stop working. There are plenty of signs that would warn you of a faulty alternator such as dimmed car lights and low battery charging.

Empty Fuel Tank: If you have low fuel in your fuel tank there will be a warning light there to tell you about it but if the warning light is ignored and has been there for a long time, the car can suddenly “knock” which would make it stop working.

Low Fuel Pressure: If your car only stops on an incline, the problem could be the low fuel pressure. It could happen as a result of clogged injectors so the best way to solve that is to buy some fuel injector cleaner and add it to your fuel tank as soon as possible.

Dirty Air Filter: If the air filter of your car is clogged or exceptionally dirty, then it will cause the car’s airflow to be clogged and this will possibly cause the car to just go off while driving or not come up at all.

Solutions To Car Shut Down

It is a really scary and unquestionable experience when your car suddenly stops working while you are driving in the middle of the road.

The very first thing to do is to move over to the side of the highway or road. It is better to move away from the road as fast as you can than to put the lives of others. It would even be better if you are not stuck in traffic where you cannot pull over at all.

The second solution is to make sure that the issue is not simple stuff such as an empty fuel tank or improper clutch application. Once you have ensured the problem is not from any of those, then you can move to check out for more complicated issues. If your battery is really old, then changing the battery would be the solution. Other easy solutions include adding an injector cleaner or replacing your air filter. Asides from these problems, an experienced technician would be required to provide solutions to the issues.

If the car stops suddenly in the middle of the road, the best thing is to just stay in the car and call for your mechanic. Do not attempt to get out of the car because it would be really risky and you would put your life in danger of getting injured or killed.