Ever broken down

[javacontour]

Does driving the church van count? Back in 2011, we were on our way to Chicago to pick up the youth from a missions trip and one of the transmission cooling lines broke off from the radiator at the midpoint of our trip up there.

Left the van in the c-store parking lot, had someone from the church pick up another van and brought it to us at the hotel we chose for the night and we continued on the next AM to get the kids.

The Chevy dealer towed the van, repaired the line and refilled the transmission.


I wonder how long I was driving without a full pan of fluid?

The van is still going today!

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Tow truck required = break down.


Using this criteria I can still count them all on one hand. I certainly couldn't count the vehicles that way.

It's simple. If you've never spent time on the side of the road you don't drive enough. Unless you believe in luck. Drive enough vehicles enough miles and something has to catch up with you eventually!

 

[exranger06]

The only time I was stranded and needed a tow truck was when I was delivering parts for Napa and driving their POS trucks. I was driving a 95 Chevy S10, in the far left lane of a 3 lane highway when the whole electrical system failed. The gauges started moving all over the place and the engine died soon after. I managed to coast all the way across the lanes into the breakdown lane with no turn signals, brake lights, or hazard lights. The battery was smoking.

Another time I was in a 98 Chevy S10 and the starter died. Couldn't start it and had to get picked up.

 

[ecotourist]

Originally Posted By: ecotourist
Have been driving for 48 years. Have only been on a hook twice (once away from home, once from home) but have had numerous close shaves. I won't count tire issues and boosts.

1960 Dodge - never
1965 Comet - (1) clutch suddenly failed to release - limped home 30 miles. Linkage had come apart. (2) developed a severe drivability problem on a hilly highway - limped home 39 miles. It was most likely the ignition coil. I got rid of the car after that (gave to BIL) and recommended replacing the coil and it never happened again.
1963 Chevy II - wife broke off the gear shift lever but I was able to manually put it in 2nd gear and drive it across town to our mechanic. Carried a fat screw driver to short between ground and starter when it wouldn't start - numerous times. Think the solenoid had some intermittent problem.
1978 Ford Fiesta - never
1981 Toyota Celica - never
1973 Buick Regal - never
1986 Volvo Turbo - exhaust dragging on major trips - twice. I began carrying an emergency exhaust resuspension kit (wire and pliers) in the glove box
2000 Toyota Solara - never
2000 BMW 528i - found a major puddle of coolant where parked in an underground garage. Had a tow truck tow it to a mechanic. Didn't want to take the chance on cooking the engine. Was only a broken bleeder screw.
2007 Honda Accord - never.

Another related issue has been sudden failures at home - blown radiator hose (Comet again), broken clutch linkage (Volvo again, towed to mechanic), and unchargeable dead battery (Honda - earlier today)

Not bad for 48 years of driving cars pretty deep into their useful lives.

Ecotourist


Forgot a couple more close shaves.

1965 Comet (the saga continues): (3) Had the voltage regulator fail in charge off mode in the middle of a 350 mile trip towing a U-haul trailer, at dusk. The headlights got pretty dim pretty fast so I stopped at a roadside garage (closed for the night). At dawn I was able to restart without any help. Regulator was now in full charge on mode. Completed the trip before replacement. (4) Couldn't start the car 180 miles from home on a week-end trip. Had a "no spark problem". Eventually discovered the distributor rotor wasn't turning, pulled the distributor and found a missing or sheared pin. Replaced the pin with whatever was handy. It fired right up (lucky to have gotten everything aligned correctly) and completed the trip. Never did replace that pin.

I learned a lot driving that car - things like "always carry a tool kit".

Ecotourist

 

[dishdude]

Been driving since '94 and never broke down. Drove mostly GM/Chrysler products, with a Ford or 2 in the mix. I am on my first import now with the GTI and hope it continues my good luck streak.

I did have a kinda break down - bought a beater '95 Cavalier in 2006 for $1200. I filled it up and was amazed at the fuel economy I was getting, I had close to 500 miles on the first tank! I then found out E = 1/8. A buddy with a gas can got me going.

 

[rjundi]

I have driven personally 600,000 miles in 25 years. My wife also 600,000 miles. Never called a tow truck except her to change a flat as she was dolled up for work.

We talked about in considering a AAA membership. Skipped.......

 

[ls1mike]

1996 Honda Accord. 56,000 miles timing belt.
2002 Jetta TDI x3. 2 netural park safety switches, 1 transmission.

Honorable mention....

2000 Trans Am WS6, broke the rearend at the track while launching for a 1/4 mile jaunt.

Edit: Been driving 20 years.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I've been driving for somewhere around 58 years. With a license around 54 years.

The only one that every left me stranded was a 1976 Chevy pickup that I purchased new. In the first year it left me stranded 2 or 3 times. After the third time I sold it and purchased a reliable vehicle.

 

[Kestas]

It's been 30 years since I've had any car towed. I've come close, but always worked around it. Just lucky. I dropped my AAA membership 10 years ago. If I ever need a tow in the future, I'll just dip into the money I saved and pay cash.

 

[HM12460]

Have had some minor issue's on the road, but never called a tow truck. NEVER. Have driven mostly Ford's with a few GM's. I am a firm believer in preventive maintenance. Too many folk's just don't get it.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

Been driving 38 years.

Have had 10 domestic (5trucks) and 3 import (2Prius).

Driven about 500k miles. -ish.

Breakdowns? Yes.
-66 Skylark, grenaded timing chain.
-72 Dodge Trk, U-joint.
-83 Dodge 2.2 Charger, simply died. Traded.
-88 Chev Trk, cracked block at 66k.
-96 Ford Trk, broken timing gears. Flatbed home.
-98 Z28, water pump. Flatbed home.
-99 Ford F250SD. Dead trans. Replaced.

No issues with the 245k mile 1989 CRX that weren't of my own doing. No problems with the 12k mile Prius C yet. The 2009 Prius has two recall items, but has been superb for 35k miles.

 

[demarpaint]

I started driving in 1975. The only vehicle that left me stranded was a 95 Chevy Caprice Classic, oh how I hated that car. I'd love to meet the engineer who decided the distributor cap belonged behind the water pump on the 4.3L V8 engine, and ask him [censored] was he thinking! Anyway the fuel pump died shortly after I bought the car, kicking and pounding on the gas tank didn't work. I had to be towed off the highway.

 

[JHZR2]

Only once due to a totally random fuel pump failure. Came out of nowhere. We have been lucky, and hopefully will stay so by proactive maintenance.

 

[supton]

Me: driving for about 20 years now.
-Izuzu Pup, tire blow out, didn't have jack, thumb'd home to retrieve not. No tow in 10kmiles or so (it had like 150k on it)
-Subaru GL, drove it for 20k, had one tow when a wheel bearing went out on it. It still drove, but was squeeking like mad, and I was worried a wheel was going to fall off. [Car had like 150k on it at the time.]
-My '83 S10 never needed a tow in the 6k I had it
-My '00 Saturn SL never needed a tow in the 4.5 years/116k I had it. Oh wait: yes it did. Slid off the highway and needed a pull from a tow truck. Once out of the ditch it was fine.
-My '04 VW. Well... It got stuck a couple of times but always dug it out (eventually) on my own. However, at 251k the turbo died; I tried to limp it to the shop but at one point it started screeching--so I stopped. At 259k or so the electric lift pump died, and it absolutely would not move. Mind you, this was like 2 months after the first tow.

So, in twenty years/430kmiles I've required a tow truck at least four times. Mostly on my VW. Don't know if it's because it's a VW, or because of the miles.

Wife: driving for I think 18 years.
-first car: don't know how long driven. No tows that I know of.
-second card: '01 Civic, drove for 173k. Needed a tow around 100k when it blew a CV joint and would not move. Luckily she was stranded in town, in front of some houses. I never forgave the car after that, as we had a 3 month old in it.
-third car, the '11 Camry: nope.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: Stelth
'85 Dodge Ram 50 (Mitsubishi), engine fire
Same thing happened to my 86 D50!

My moms 87 Omni used to eat pick up coils. It left her stranded about 3x a year.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I've been driving since 1976, so, 37 years. (Gack! I can't be that old, Batman!)

Breakdowns: The Ford Maverick and the '65 Mercury were fine. The '75 Volvo caught fire when I was driving it and burned up, so no repairs were needed -- just a tow to the junk yard.

By far the champ was the '84 Ford Escort, which I drove for 6 long years. Broke down on a hot August afternoon in traffic in '86, and fortunately Ford covered that one. The timing belt broke on a cold rainy night at 2 a.m. outside a housing project, and a nice couple in a Cadillac pushed my car 2 miles home (yes, pushed with their front bumper). It also failed to start, though not from a battery problem, the day before Christmas. In its last year, it had a flat tire (though that's not Ford's fault). I was glad to trade it.

The Oldsmobiles, '89 and '94, never had a problem.

The '84 Mercedes 280CE, a Euro model, had its aftermarket air pump seize up when I was a few miles from home. I tried to turn the engine on, and the pump belt screamed at me. I cut off the belt and ran the car for another year without the air pump until I traded it.

The '86 MB 420SEL: no problems. The '07 MB C230's battery died, but it was parked right outside, and the MB Assistance came out, installed a new battery, and reprogrammed the windows and sunroof, so I wasn't stuck.

The current sled, the '03 Buick Park Avenue, overheated last year just as I got home, so again I wasn't stranded, but I had it towed to my mechanic just to be safe.

 

[Dave Sherman]

23 years for me. Only 1 breakdown that left me stranded where I had to get a tow truck. My dad's 1988 Pontiac 6000 ate the Iron Duke's fantastic plastic camshaft gear teeth at about 90,000 miles.

Close call with the Saturn when a gearshift cable popped off, coincidentally, in front of the closed Saturn retailer. Couldn't get into first or second gear, but I managed to limp home on back roads starting out in third. A trip to the parts store by bicycle, and I doctored a universal breather filter clip to improvise a new clip until I could get a real one the next day.

1988 Pontiac 6000 (dad's car, learned to drive on it)
1997 Saturn SL2 (my first car) 128,000 miles but I needed something larger
2004 Honda CR-V 64,000 miles but the stick shift got to be a drag in daily stop-go traffic
2008 Honda CR-V 83,000 miles so far
1977 MG Midget garage rescue, 33,000 miles