2017 has been named as the warmest year of the century so far by the newspapers. However, Autonational’s car breakdown statistics 2017, speak of some interesting changes too, perhaps not as warming as the newspaper headlines, but some interesting ones nevertheless.
Based on our 2017 report, we have narrowed down some important findings and come up with ways to lessen the chances of a breakdown happening in the first place.
Most common reasons for car breakdowns
Non Start
What is the main reason for this?
There are many reasons for why a car engine may not start, so it is important to pin point the exact reason before trying to make any repairs yourself. If you are not sure what the reason might be, call your breakdown service provider. Some of the reasons may include; flat battery, flooded engine, fuel injection pump, fuel injectors.
How can this be avoided?
You can avoid non starting issues by simply maintaining your engine and repairing any notable damages to it as soon as they are spotted. Flat battery is the most common reason for the car engine not starting, try to avoid using electricity for long periods of time while the car ignition isn’t on – heaters, radio and interior lights tend to drain the car battery pretty quickly.
Tyre/Wheel Issues
What is the main reason for this?
Illegal wear, misalignment, camber wear, emergency braking, cuts and tears, impact damage.
How can this be avoided?
Just like in most car fault cases, the best way to avoid a tyre fault is to spot it before it becomes dangerous, unless the fault is caused by a sudden impact on the road, such as a nail or a pothole.
You can avoid Tyre and Wheel caused breakdowns by ensuring that your tyres are correctly inflated – In most cases inflation issues occur because of under-inflation. This will speed up the daily wear on the shoulder of the tyre massively, resulting in quick degradation. If you are unable to change your tyre yourself or feel like you are not in a safe location to do so, get in touch with your breakdown service provider to assist you.
Avoid overloading you vehicle, doing so is illegal as well as extremely bad for the car tyres. Increased pressure in the tyres leads to strain that causes rise in temperature and fast tyre wear.
Manage your speed – driving at fast speed will most definitely lead to increased tyre wear. Avoid aggressive acceleration/deceleration, especially if you think that your tyres may be under-inflated.
General Mechanical Issues
What is the main reason for this?
This very much depends on what is the mechanical problem that the car is facing. This could be an electrical fault, problem with the brakes, clutch or gear box, exhaust or perhaps a cut out due to an accident.
How can this be avoided?
This very much depends on what is the mechanical problem that the car is facing. This could be an electrical fault, problem with the brakes, clutch or gear box, exhaust or perhaps a cut out due to an accident.
Most common car age groups to require breakdown recovery
Which category does your car fall into?
Just as the graph above suggests, It is clear to see that cars that fall into the 11 to 15 years of age category are most likely to report a breakdown. After discussing this matter with a mechanical professional, we were provided with this interesting insight:
“You can really learn a lot from this statistic, we get a lot of cars brought in to that fall into that age group and there seems to be a correlation with how their owners look after them. A car that is let’s say 13 years old, doesn’t seem that old, so people often tend to not put as much effort into servicing it and frequently looking out for any faults, while really past the age of 10, cars tend to become more vulnerable to mechanical faults. Now in comparison you have 6 to 10 years old cars, that naturally break less often, due to their age. Then you have your 20+ years of age cars, that tend to require and receive plenty of maintenance to keep them going, meaning that they are less likely to suddenly break and require breakdown recovery service.”
Many factors can be taken into consideration when pin pointing as to why breakdown call outs happen, just as our Car Breakdown Statistics 2017 suggest. But one thing is for sure, it is extremely important to have the best cover possible in case you do breakdown, at home or on the road. So why not get a cover with Autonational today? Check out our cover selection here.
Watch out for Part 2 of our Autonational Car Breakdown Statistics 2017 article, being published very soon.