– By Marc Sibbald –
Do cars still break down? According to the RACV the most common reasons for breakdowns are the same today as they were in the 1990s when I was motor mechanic being called out to fix them.
Flat batteries are the main reason people call for roadside assistance. With the improvement in vehicle technology I thought this would have changed. The electrical systems have improved; technology has changed; and features that turn the lights off automatically are now standard on most vehicles.
Sure there are a lots of older vehicles on the road that don’t have the latest technology. But with the average age of vehicles in Australia hoovering at ten years, the auto-off feature should be common in vehicles post 2006. So why are flat batteries still such a big problem?
The answer is poor maintenance. Batteries need replacing. And they don’t always last three years which is the average time most fleets keep their vehicles.
It’s a problem made worst because of extended service schedules that mean vehicles only visit their mechanic once a year. If the annual service is during summer the battery may pass a test. Then winter comes and the colder weather makes it fail.
Winter is coming! So get the batteries checked on all vehicles in your fleet older than two years to avoid the inconvenient breakdown.
Here’s the list of breakdown reasons from the RACV Business Care brochure.
- Flat or dead battery (47%)
- Wheel change (10%)
- Out of fuel (8%)
- Lock out (7%)
- Other (28%)
