Car - what if engine suddenly quits

[ray66v]

Having worked all my life in the auto repair business, I have lots of experience driving dead, or partially dead vehicles into the shop. If they don't run, usually they are pushed by hand, sometimes by another vehicle.

Vehicles are all designed to be controllable, when the engine fails while driving.

As the speed decreases, you will be required to use more effort steering. Making turns will be very difficult at lower speeds. The sharper the turn, the more momentum it will take. Plan carefully.

You can gain some distance by putting the transmission in neutral as soon as you realize the engine failed. A mechanical shifter on an automatic transmission, will always simply move into neutral if you just push it in that direction.

As stated, the brakes will depend on how much vacuum you have left. When that's lost, they will still work. just not effectively at speed.

Many people don't expect to have to use so much effort to steer and stop, so they mistakenly think it's not possible, and give up.

Find a big parking lot, and turn the engine off while moving, to see what happens. (This should be part of driver education training).

If you have a key ignition, make sure you don't turn it all the way to the key removal position. That will lock the steering wheel.

 

[Oz_Kioti]

This looks like something that would be built in the backwoods of Southern Indiana!

I don't get the reference. Is it complimentary? Or sort of an Appalachians-style thing?

 

[MTGreen]

I don't get the reference. Is it complimentary? Or sort of an Appalachians-style thing?

I think to most of us here in the US, that vehicle looks a mis-mash of different vehicles put together despite the practicality: rear bed of commercial work truck + nose/cab of a commuter sedan + raised 4wd running gear. There are poorer folks here in the US that use "Yankee Inginuity" to take junkyard vehicles with good parts/portions to make something functional but definitely looking like it wasn't originally engineered that way.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I think to most of us here in the US, that vehicle looks a mis-mash of different vehicles put together despite the practicality: rear bed of commercial work truck + nose/cab of a commuter sedan + raised 4wd running gear. There are poorer folks here in the US that use "Yankee Inginuity" to take junkyard vehicles with good parts/portions to make something functional but definitely looking like it wasn't originally engineered that way.

you polish that one pretty good ...

 

[Rockbadchild]

I don't get the reference. Is it complimentary? Or sort of an Appalachians-style thing?

Yes to the second although it doesn't have to be derogatory by default ... without offending MTGreen by putting word in his mouth or yourself by offending your built in anyway I will try to explain further... One could've used redneck or hillbilly to describe it (Appalachian style) probably the first though most people think when looking at it, although it is only because of it's miss match nature and out of place parts (the car part or all the rest), it is not by it's looks because it is very clean looking built. Although these term are often used or intended to be derogatory and judge by it's looks alone, at least for me a rednecky looking thing could simply be a custom built someone did with what they have to save money at the detriment of their time. Most people think why not simply used a 4x4 truck and put a flat bed behind it instead of doing all this work. It doesn't mean it is not ingenious by nature and made by a skill person.

 

[LouNY]

Here in Australia, it was a Ford BA series, RTV variant. The RTV apparently stood for Rough Terrain Vehicle - beefed up & raised suspension, diff lock, under-body guards, different diff ratio, 4 speed automatic, 1 tonne carrying capacity and drives with the comfort of a normal car. Fantastic vehicle? You betcha! Mine's a 2004 build, bought at a government auction for used fleet vehicles in 2006. It was pretty high mileage for an 18 month old vehicle - 123,000km - and it had been used by the MRD (Main Roads Department) as a "scalies" vehicle (used for carrying portable weighing devices to do roadside checks on possibly overweight trucks, semis, etc). Now at 20 years old, it still has less than 180,000km on it, so a very low mileage unit! Love it!

View attachment 850845

I think that is an interesting little rig. I wouldn't mind looking at one in person and seeing if it fits a large person comfortably. But it would never get imported into the USA.

 

[ponytug]

The "Utes" in Australia have always seemed like practical vehicles for much of the rural US. I have never really understood why they weren't imported here. Perhaps I am too bottom line about my utility vehicles / pickups. I want them to do certain things like haul / tow / tolerate driving around on back roads / pastures. I don't really care if they "look" a certain way, nor am I a " I have to own a brand X vehicle."

Those Utes are a darned sight more maneuverable than my current one ton, that's for sure. "YMMV..."

All the best,

Peter

 

[MTGreen]

you polish that one pretty good ...

I was trying to be objective...

 

[Oz_Kioti]

OK, I think I understand now. Incidentally, they were only two-wheel rear drive, but the diff lock feature means it's highly unlikely you'd ever get stuck in slush too badly. Sort of halfway between 2WD and 4WD.

Comfort wise, I'm 6'2'' and there's still more travel available on the seat rails to go back even further. And with the seat-back at a comfortable laid-back angle, there's very useful storage volume behind the seats.

The thing with Aussie utes (short for "utility vehicle", but no one over here uses that term - sounds a bit pompous) is that these days, the trend is for what are called "style-side utes". The hip tradies go for them in a big way - lowered, and with a big chrome roll bar - but in practical terms, no match for a cab-chassis with drop-down sides! I bought mine specifically so I could carry two standard size pallet-bins, one behind the other. The tray on mine is 8' long! (2.4m) The photo of the shiny one is not mine, by the way, and it has the standard length tray.

This is a more recent (2015) style-side tradies ute:

 

[ponytug]

The drop sides is one of the features that I really liked about utes. It makes it so easy to load and unload. However, that feature alone in many US states bumps the vehicle from "automobile/personal" to "commercial" licensing.

All the best,

Peter

 

[LouNY]

Yes, the previous picture of a work vehicle is a much better vehicle then the Yuppie thing in the last pic.

 

[MTGreen]

The drop sides is one of the features that I really liked about utes. It makes it so easy to load and unload. However, that feature alone in many US states bumps the vehicle from "automobile/personal" to "commercial" licensing.

All the best,

Peter

Yep and makes any attempt at import subject to chicken tax

 

[GMboxSMG2]

Having worked all my life in the auto repair business, I have lots of experience driving dead, or partially dead vehicles into the shop. If they don't run, usually they are pushed by hand, sometimes by another vehicle.

Vehicles are all designed to be controllable, when the engine fails while driving.

As the speed decreases, you will be required to use more effort steering. Making turns will be very difficult at lower speeds. The sharper the turn, the more momentum it will take. Plan carefully.

You can gain some distance by putting the transmission in neutral as soon as you realize the engine failed. A mechanical shifter on an automatic transmission, will always simply move into neutral if you just push it in that direction.

As stated, the brakes will depend on how much vacuum you have left. When that's lost, they will still work. just not effectively at speed.

Many people don't expect to have to use so much effort to steer and stop, so they mistakenly think it's not possible, and give up.

Find a big parking lot, and turn the engine off while moving, to see what happens. (This should be part of driver education training).

If you have a key ignition, make sure you don't turn it all the way to the key removal position especially on a really pricy car from luxury car rental. That will lock the steering wheel.

One tip I’d add when steering without power: use your body weight to help turn the wheel. If you're at a dead stop or moving very slowly, it’s almost like wrestling the wheel, so leaning into it makes a big difference. For braking, you nailed it—people panic when they lose power assist, but with steady pressure, you can still stop the car. It just feels very different. Also, the point about shifting into neutral is critical. I’ve seen so many people freeze up or forget that they can coast in neutral after a stall. It’s one of those skills you only realize you need when you’re in a bad spot, so practicing it is a fantastic idea. I agree that every driver should know how their car behaves when the engine cuts out, but so few ever try it in a controlled environment.

 

[kenmbz]

Some new cars have electric steering, wonder how that works in a power out situation.
I'm not willing to try and figure it out in my wife's car though.

 

[dodge man]

I had a car runaway on me years ago. It was a Pontiac Grand Am and I felt the cruise control did it. I instinctively put it in neutral and pulled in a parking lot and shut it off. It was bumping up and down against the rev limiter.

I remember a story years ago about a woman that had this happen and her transmission mount broke and it wouldn’t go into neutral. She could have shut it off with the key but they think she was turning it the wrong way. She called 911 and the police got in front of her and somehow got her slowed down and stopped.

 

[etpm]

Some cars do indeed have steer by wire, Mercedes comes to mind, and there is no direct connection of the steering wheel to the front wheels. This means that if the electronic steering fails there will be no way to steer the vehicle. Apparently this steer by wire is more reliable than any mechanical steering setup. This is based on the rate of total failures of mechanical steering systems versus total failure of steer by wire systems. I'm dubious, but what do I know. It seems to me that it would be best to incorporate the best of both systems. Use a direct connection from the steering wheel to a steering mechanism and incorporate an electric assist. But what do I know, I'm just a steering Luddite.
Eric

 

[jyoutz]

Yes, the previous picture of a work vehicle is a much better vehicle then the Yuppie thing in the last pic.

Reminiscent of the old Ford Rancheros and Chevy El Caminos.

 

[not2old]

Can you do that with a modern vehicle that has pushbutton start? I didn't think the engine would turn off unless it was in park.

No, you cannot turn off the motor unless it is in park, and that's a serious safety problem.

 

[not2old]

You can’t get out? One of my vehicles has the fob you just have to have it with you. You don’t get locked in, you just lift the inside door handle and it unlocks and opens.

Without the fob, you can't open the doors on my 2014 CTS-V from the inside unless you reach for the emergency cable located in the inside of the door sill beside your foot. Not a lot of room to move down there. Both doors have electric switches inside and out for the doors.

 

[ponytug]

No, you cannot turn off the motor unless it is in park, and that's a serious safety problem.

I think that is model dependent. On mine, you can't turn the vehicle off while moving, but you can do it while stopped, foot on brake, and not in Park.

@eptm I share your concerns about steer by wire. AFAIK, the enhanced safety of steer by wire is through redundancy and the lack of a mechanical column in a crash. Your comment prompted me to look for data, and as far as I can tell there isn't data, in part because so few vehicles have been sold with only steer by wire.
Steer-by-wire - Wikipedia (list of vehicles at the end)

All the best,

Peter