What To Do If Your Car Breaks Down On A Road Trip

You’ve been eager to go on a road trip for many years. It took months of planning as you mapped out a route and figured out where to go - you even bought a vehicle specifically for this trip! 

Everything looks like it’s going to plan, but have you thought about a worst-case scenario? A breakdown is the worst thing to happen during a road trip. Your car stops working in the middle of nowhere, leaving you in a very panicked state. If this has happened to you and you’ve found this post while searching for what to do when your car breaks down on a road trip, then here are some actionable tips to guide you through the next steps. 

Move your car to safety & make it visible

If you can, pull over to the side of the road so you’re out of the way. This prevents any safety issues with traffic from behind and lets you park up and think about what to do next. You also need to make your car as visible as possible to other drivers. Turn on the hazard lights to warn other motorists of your problem. This is especially important if it’s dark or the visibility is poor - it lets them see your car and understand that you’ve got an issue. 

When you’re parked up, you can also place an emergency triangle around 10-15 feet from your car. All vehicles should come with one of these - if you don’t have one, then make sure you buy one before your next car journey! 

At this stage, you should be safely away from traffic, and everyone should be aware of your stationary vehicle. Now, you can focus on what caused the breakdown. 

Find the problem (if you can)

Sometimes, breakdowns are very obviously caused by something. For example, if you go over a large bump and then start to feel a loss of pressure in your tyres, you’ve probably got a flat tyre. You’ll hear and feel the vibrations when this happens, so you know that a quick tyre change will solve the situation. 

If the problem is obvious - and fixable - then carry out the roadside repairs yourself. Of course, only do this if you are in a safe location as far from active traffic as possible! There won’t be many things you can fix alone, other than a deflated tyre or maybe an overheating engine that needs a coolant top-up and some time to rest. 

Pay attention to the warning lights on your dashboard if you can’t work out what the issue is. There could be a significant problem with the car’s inner workings - when you don’t know what caused the problem, it’s best to avoid touching anything. 

Call for help

Additional help will likely be necessary for a lot of road trip breakdowns. Those of you with roadside assistance as part of your insurance coverage can go ahead and call the provider. They’ll come out ASAP to help fix your car or tow it to safety. 

What if you don’t have roadside assistance coverage? Well, you will need to tow your car, which means contacting the local towing company. Find their details on your phone with a quick Google search, and they’ll come out as quickly as possible. 

Where should you tow your car? It depends! If there are garages nearby, then it could be worth going straight to them so you can get your car looked at by professionals. If it’s the middle of the night, your best bet is to be towed to the nearest hotel so you have a place to rest before tackling the problem in the morning. 

Assess the next options

Ideally, the breakdown is minor, and you can get going again with a new tyre. However, if you’re towed to a safer location and your car needs to be fixed by professionals, you must consider what to do about your road trip. Again, if there are garages close to your location, you could book an appointment for your car to be looked at. It might be an easy fix for a mechanic - but then you have to question if it’s worth continuing your trip. 

Perhaps the better option is to hire a car for the rest of the journey! Your broken car can sit in the garage and get fixed while you carry on your road trip. Alternatively, you have to give up on the trip and plan another one at a later date. 

Knowing what to do when you break down during a road trip is important. Moreover, you should perform lots of maintenance checks before the trip to prevent incidents from happening. Be sure your car is in the right condition for a long drive, and you should avoid a lot of common road trip problems.