Mechanical breakdowns and electrical failures of vehicles can occur, often at the most unexpected times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this happens to you or someone you know, follow this guide for tips on what to do when you\u2019re stuck. You\u2019ll also gain a better understanding of why car breakdowns happen and how to prevent them in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that it\u2019s the festive season and many are planning year-end getaways, it\u2019s easy to overlook necessary repairs or replacements you may not have considered essential. In fact, drivers who have purchased a vehicle without a car warranty are not only more susceptible to car trouble but also risk compromising their vehicle\u2019s dependability and longevity in the long term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jarrod Berman, managing director at MotorHappy, said: \u201cThe reasons for breakdowns vary. Your battery might be faulty, the engine could overheat, or your tyres might need replacing. It\u2019s always recommended that your vehicle is properly maintained, especially if you\u2019re planning to travel long distances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To stay prepared, should a mechanical or electrical failure happen when you\u2019re on the road, find out why these issues occur and what steps you can take to manage the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next time you have to pull over or stop your car because of mechanical or electrical failures, be sure to remember these tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n .<\/span> Make use of your hazard lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> If possible, try to pull to the far-left lane or into the emergency lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> Make sure your car is visible to others when you stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> As long as it is safe, stay in your car and call for professional or roadside assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> Avoid flagging down other drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> Auto repair is not something you should attempt on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> Help should only be accepted from police officers, Metro Police officers, or emergency personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> Make sure you have the proper emergency numbers memorised or on hand at all times in case of an emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoutine car maintenance is the best way to prevent breakdowns. Keeping up with oil changes, tyre checks, and battery inspections ensures your vehicle is road-ready and reduces the risk of unexpected failures,\u201d added Berman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Extending your car warranty offers several benefits you might not expect. Beyond protecting your vehicle against further mechanical breakdowns and electrical failures, it also provides financial security and enhances your overall driving experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The right plan ensures access to professional help and genuine parts when needed. With an extended warranty, you can enjoy your vehicle with greater peace of mind, knowing that you\u2019re prepared for the unexpected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mechanical breakdowns and electrical failures of vehicles can occur, often at the most unexpected times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":42184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"ed7868e3-48cc-4e61-a0d5-adc529b20c0b","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-42182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/3c2371da114f4dee9224ac5c311060b3.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54642,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/top-tips-for-your-motorcycle-20220126-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":42182,"position":0},"title":"Top tips for your motorcycle","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"27 January 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Part of being a motorcycle owner involves epic breakfast runs, off-road adventures and track days. The not-so-fun aspect of owning a motorcycle is the maintenance needed to keep your bike running smoothly, especially if you\u2019re a daily rider.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":268621,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/hospice-warns-motorists-of-vehicle-break-ins-in-stellenbosch-cbd\/","url_meta":{"origin":42182,"position":1},"title":"Hospice warns motorists of vehicle break-ins in Stellenbosch CBD","author":"Ya\u00ebl Malgas","date":"6 November 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Stellenbosch Hospice Shop advises customers to remain vigilant against thieves following a recent car break-in. A video shows a suspect smashing a vehicle's window. Police noted daily thefts but a recent decrease. Drivers are urged to remove valuables, lock vehicles, and park in safer areas, especially during the festive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SAPS","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/03cd48a07d0e43e28f7_80424-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/03cd48a07d0e43e28f7_80424-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/03cd48a07d0e43e28f7_80424-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/03cd48a07d0e43e28f7_80424-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/03cd48a07d0e43e28f7_80424-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44650,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/aa-offers-tips-to-motorists-for-the-winter-months-20240627\/","url_meta":{"origin":42182,"position":2},"title":"AA offers tips to motorists for the winter months","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"2 July 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"With the winter cold setting in now is the best time to perform maintenance on your vehicle.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9bac32d9595649c89fa782ea22e26eca.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9bac32d9595649c89fa782ea22e26eca.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9bac32d9595649c89fa782ea22e26eca.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9bac32d9595649c89fa782ea22e26eca.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9bac32d9595649c89fa782ea22e26eca.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9bac32d9595649c89fa782ea22e26eca.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50196,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/road-trip-safety-tips-this-easter-20230404\/","url_meta":{"origin":42182,"position":3},"title":"Road trip safety tips this Easter","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"7 April 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Easter weekend is upon us, which means many South Africans will be hitting the roads to see family or go somewhere scenic with their loved ones. While this may be a beautiful time, the country\u2019s roads can become unpredictable. So, taking the necessar","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50266,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/road-trip-safety-tips-this-easter-20230404-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":42182,"position":4},"title":"Road trip safety tips this Easter","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"5 April 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Easter weekend is upon us, which means many South Africans will be hitting the roads to see family or go somewhere scenic with their loved ones. While this may be a beautiful time, the country\u2019s roads can become unpredictable. So, taking the necessar","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/79311f47eb3d4d5e951e985adac87500.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/79311f47eb3d4d5e951e985adac87500.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/79311f47eb3d4d5e951e985adac87500.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/79311f47eb3d4d5e951e985adac87500.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76910,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/eskom-announced-stage-2-loadshedding-starting-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":42182,"position":5},"title":"Eskom announced Stage 2 loadshedding starting today","author":"Shanti Jafta","date":"13 May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Eskom announced Stage 2 loadshedding from May 13-15 during evening peak hours due to delayed maintenance returns and unplanned breakdowns affecting generation capacity.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo for illustration purposes.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/electricity-4666566_1920-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/electricity-4666566_1920-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/electricity-4666566_1920-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/electricity-4666566_1920-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/electricity-4666566_1920-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/electricity-4666566_1920-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Eikestadnuus","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42182"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=42182"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=42182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}