Last summer, the ANWB Wegenwacht had the busiest summer in fifteen years in terms of breakdowns. AutoWeek asked about the most common problems.
1. Battery Problems
It is normally extra frequent in winter when it comes to battery problems, because of the cold. After all, batteries and low temperatures are not a nice combination and then they either want to get a voltage that is too low to be able to start the car, or they even give up the ghost completely. Nevertheless, battery problems often occurred last summer. So many times, in fact, that it was number 1 when it came to breakdown reports. It was probably a bit more often than in the winter to leave discharged batteries by leaving lights on or charging phones in the car a little too enthusiastically at the campsite. You can often solve it yourself with jumper cables and another car, but then you have to have those cables available of course. Read more about batteries here.
2. Flat tire
After battery problems, reports of punctures mainly came in last summer. Perhaps the most classic reason to ask the Roadside Assistance for help. In the summer, the risk of flat tires may be slightly higher due to holiday traffic. After all, many people set out with a trailer, folding trailer or caravan and they can of course also get a flat tire. Especially because its tires have often not been in use all year or have sometimes been under it for (way too) long and suddenly have to deal with heavy loads. Furthermore, the presence of a fully-fledged and usable spare wheel in cars is becoming less and less obvious and you also need to know how to correctly change a wheel.
3. Key Problems
The top 3 is completed by a breakdown that you might not have expected: problems with keys. That is, of course, quite open to interpretation. Anyone who locks a car with the key still in it also has a ‘problem with the key’. In such a case, the Wegenwacht can open the car for you. It becomes more complicated if the key itself causes a problem. More and more keys are packed with electronics for things like keyless entry and keyless go. If keyless entry does not work, you can usually still open the car with a physical key. Starting is more likely to be a problem with a key failure.
Although the summer holidays are over, for many the autumn holidays are already approaching. If you are going on the road by car, it might be a good idea to check whether your car is just as ready as you are. Tips for a holiday check of your car can be found here.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl