Have you ever broken down?

blueboy2001

blueboy2001

blueboy2001

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18 Oct 2002
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Following on from a conservation I've just had in the pub, how many people have broken down in car, and by that I mean been stranded at the roadside whilst out in the car, not the ashtray cover fell off their Saxo or anything like that, or an accident, but a mechanical or electrical failure that caused you to stop.

I'll start - No, not in 8 years and about 175,000 miles.
 
Yes, clutch cable snapped when trying to reverse off drive.

Alternator belt snapped on the motorway when i was 10 miles from home, two weeks before was gonna change it on my old engine.
 
1) Hole in the rad - My Car
2) Broken gear selector cable iirc - Work Van

Done 200k+ Miles in 5ish years of driving
 
Clutch randomly went in my (then) 30k from new Seat Leon late at night miles up north on the M6 near preston :/
 
Only once I think, Alternator died and the battery went flat coming home from work. Was only a mile or two from home as well! :o
 
Yes, numerious times

Clutch cable snapped twice in the 106, fortunatly both times I was within a few miles and got home without the clutch.
Clutch bearing also went, again got the car into gear and managed to get home.

Had a tyre burst in my old micra at 2:30am, about 15miles away from any village in the middle of nowhere and quite stupidly didnt have breakdown cover. Me and my mate walked for about 2 hours solid then got a taxi 50 miles home.
I did have a spare wheel in the car, unfortunatly another mate of mine decided to remove the locking nut key from the car the week before for some reason.
 
In 1994, in my 1984 A reg 1.1 Ford Fiesta Ghia - clutch pedal ratchet went. Was down a country lane too - had to leave it on the road and walk 2 miles to the nearest garage to use a phone (didnt have a mobile then).
 
once, fuel filter housing cracked on a escort 1.8 td i had years ago. couldnt get it started. easy fix tho.

with the golf... the clutch screwed up, but still got me home.
 
ermm about 6 times? :p

First: Ran out of petrol on first day of owning my cavalier, the fuel gauge was broken

Second: Cambelt slipped on my 2L mondeo (was 45k overdue though not bad going :p)

Third: Borrowed a clio off of my sister, alternator died 100 miles from home =[

Fourth: Clutch died on my 2.5 v6 mondeo four HOURS after picking it up

Five: Alternator dies on same car (my fault I left it too long it had been warning me for weeks)

Sixth: Bolt on Gear linkage snapped on my way home from booking it in at the garage to have the gear linkage sorted the day after

Fun fun eh? :p I've been driving just over a year.

Tom.
 
twice...

first pedal box snapped on the ibiza needed to be towed home.. was only 10 mins away..

2nd the death of the ibiza.. not sure what went wrong but it died and i couldnt be bothered with it anymore.. so never actually tried to find the fault lol.. but that was at the top of the road.. so hazards on and rolled down the road as the engine cut out then turned right and rolled into my street and parked up lol.

few other times in others cars also.. erm me and my mate had to lift the back of a mk3 astra before to get wheel changed.. no jack lol
 
Had my Water pump bearings fail on my Capri 2.8i last year, it started spewing coolant allover the place whilst i was parking up one morning at work.

To get home i had my dad meet me at work 9 miles from home in the Volvo with lots of gallons of hot water in the back, had to refill the cooling system every 3 miles but i got home.

Had to drive home followed by a cloud of steam and a screaming alternator & fan belt as water was being sprayed allover the front of the engine bay.
 
Clutch went, had only been driving a week maybe. Car only cost £100 couldn't grumble.

Current car, water pump blew!! New engine job, o the joys of motoring! :p
 
moss said:
Yes, numerious times

Clutch cable snapped twice in the 106, fortunatly both times I was within a few miles and got home without the clutch.
Clutch bearing also went, again got the car into gear and managed to get home.
Click to expand...

So in the context of this thread that'll be a 'no' then? :p
 
Errr, from what I can remember... twice.

In the second 214, the alternator belt tensioner bracket broke on the way to west Wales for a funeral. Had a car full of mates and it eventually conked out on the A55 on the way home.

We climbed the embankment expecting to find a big empty field but instead, we were delighted to see a garage! Of all the places! :D Bought a battery and got home.

And then... last weekend. Coming home from my mates in Preston, get back on the M61 when the car starts missing... badly.

The misfiring then turned into loud pops from the exhaust on even the lightest of pedal application. Decided to pull over before any damage was caused and I knew that as soon as I dipped the clutch to stop, the engine would cut out.

Sure enough it did, and when I tried to start it it'd run for a second or two and then cut out again. I panicked, called my mate who said he'd come out to me... just before he turned up I tried starting it and it fired up fine.

Pretty sure the thermostat being stuck open caused the engine to flood which was causing the backfiring. Silly car.

edit... Ohhh no, almost forgot... the time when I broke the gearbox on the 214.
 
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Yup...The ones I can remember....

VW Polo - Top hose blew

Vauxhall Chevette - Vibration from bent half shaft causing exhaust to snap and fall off X 3

Ford Escort - Alternator wire snapped by mechanic during clutch change and warning light bulb had gone - battery died.

Citroen BX - Drivers door fell off.

Renault Fuego (1) - Stone punctured radiator. Tire blew out.

Renault Fuego (2) - Clutch cable mounting snapped off. Ignition unit failed.

Renault Fuego (3) - Coil failed. Starter motor failed (choice time to do it - in a motorway petrol station).

Wolseley 16/60 - Clutch failed (hydraulics). Brakes failed. Alternator failed multiple times as fouled on steering box so kept working loose and falling off). Weak oil pump caused bent valves on a regular basis - pump eventually gave up one evening on the M25 = dead engine.

Vauxhall Cavalier - Handbrake cable snapped (not really a breakdown).

Volvo 340 - Driveshaft joint snapped.

Mercedes 190E (not mine) - Cam shaft snapped / disintegrated.

Jaguar XJS - Gearbox blew up x 3. (Wasn't repaired properly the 1st and 2nd time).

Now I think about it, I don't seem to have much luck with cars. :p
 
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i've ran out of petrol twice, and my alternator belt snapped on the way home from the leeds festival, the alternatator also drove the water pump, i had a spare belt in the car at the time replaced it but due to the pressure build up i also ruptured the top radiator hose £150 at the roadside for the worlds most expensive radiator bandage that didnt even work. That same day i signed up for AA cover. All that was with my previous car my current car no breakdowns at all

thedazman
 
[TW]Fox said:
So in the context of this thread that'll be a 'no' then? :p
Click to expand...

lol, :rolleyes: to myself. To be honest, I didnt really read thread properly.
Suppose the Micra breakdown counts though :p
 
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