Scary Moment

[Chobulous]

Driving on the M66 yesterday morning at about 06:00 doing about 70 in the nearside lane. Just got to J2 when the car's engine stopped completely without warning, no power, no nothing. At that point there was a load of incoming traffic on my left hand side, loads behind me and the ususal Audi knob-heads to my right. On went the hazards, and I had to coast along to my left hoping the incoming would give way while I wrestled with the lack of power steering to get to the hard shoulder. Fortunately they did give way.

Scariest moment of my life.

[FactualFrank]

Crikey, I can imagine. You were fortunate that they let you pull in, as there's an awful lot of drivers who shouldn't be on the road, who would have ignored you and carried on.

Have you found out what caused the car to shutdown?

[tim_noone]

Quick thinking with the hazards!

[Chobulous]

Crikey, I can imagine. You were fortunate that they let you pull in, as there's an awful lot of drivers who shouldn't be on the road, who would have ignored you and carried on.

Have you found out what caused the car to shutdown?

I phoned Green Flag and was stood on the hard shoulder for 2 hours before the recovery vehicle turned up. It was effing freezing and total darkness other than headlights from vehicles rushing past 3 feet away. The car was in the garage for 4 hours before they found the problem. Damaged earth strap apparently.

[Pstotto]

it's only when one stands next to a road that the danger of it and how out-of-control most drivers really are and the speed really can be seen. I'm amazed you either stayed in your car or stayed near to it, as that is one of THE most dangerous places one can be. I wouldn't dare be a recovery man, too much risk of being hit.

[FactualFrank]

It's not quite the same, but I was also on the M66 a few years ago when my car basically ran out of fuel. There was a problem with the fuel indicator, so I thought I had enough left in the tank when I didn't. I was in the middle lane and thankfully I managed to freewheel onto the hard shoulder. It's a bit panicky when something like that happens though!

[Leisure]

Chobulous - What make is your car? My Daughter had a Jeep Patriot which did this on occasions.

[Chobulous]

It's a Toyota Yaris. Up to now it has been a total work-horse, but it has done 122,000 miles. Time for a change I think because I don't know if I trust it now.

[Leisure]

It's a Toyota Yaris. Up to now it has been a total work-horse, but it has done 122,000 miles. Time for a change I think because I don't know if I trust it now.

I've just got rid of the Jeep as I didn't want my Daughter risking driving it, especially on a motorway.

[Lord Beamish]

Similar happened to me about 12 years ago, on a busy M6 North of Preston. In the outside lane, doing about 80mph, when the the whole engine went dead. Had to wheedle my way to the hard shoulder with just the car’s inertia to get me there. Total Brown Trousers Time!
A sensor for the engine management system had failed, as it turned out. I’d just joined the AA two day before, luckily enough.I ran the car(a Ford Focus TDCI) for another year, without any such problems before giving it to my father in law when he needed a motor. He ran it for years.

[arise_sir_charge]

Driverless car anybody?

[ClaretTony]

Only happened to be once and I was very fortunate it was on a quiet M65 at around 7 am with little traffic around.

[SammyBoy]

My first car, an 11 year old Peugeot 206 used to randomly cut out on me. Thankfully it was usually when I was slowing down to approach a junction or something similar and not at 70mph. Still to this day cannot figure out what caused it, and the car used to restart immediately if I turned the ignition. It was hair raising though losing control of the steering even at low speeds.

[WadingInDeeper]

I had a similar experience a number of years ago.

Driving down the M65, rush hour, in the middle lane passing a slip road, when something sheared off the engine and went through it. Large bang, cloud of smoke, dead engine, no power on the steering (obviously) and three young sleepy children in the car.

Managed to very quickly get the smoking car onto the hard shoulder and get the three, by now scared, children out of the car and up the embankment. It wasn't until I was on the phone to the RAC that I realised I wasn't actually shaking due to the cold, because it wasn't cold.

RAC were very good and came very quickly. Although, I could have told him from the trail of oil and smoking engine that he wasn't going to fix it at the roadside.

[dushanbe]

Certainly a twitchy moment. I'm not sure I fully understand though - if you were in the nearside lane, why were cars on your left?

[Herts Clarets]

I had similar about 17 years ago. Got a new company car, about 4 weeks old. I was on the M1 near Watford in the outside lane and the engine cut out. Took me a while to get someone who would allow me to pull over and stop the car. Fault was a fuel hose clip on top of the tank had worked loose.

That however was less scary than another incident, a few miles further south on the M1, around Mill Hill heading north. I was outside lane, about 85mph passing traffic. Suddenly a 4ft wooden fence post fell off a flat bed transit in the middle lane and cartwheeled across the carriageway. I ducked down behind the steering wheel and the post smacked into the screen and over the top of my car. How the hell that didn't come through the screen I will never know. I guess the fact it hit in the corner of the screen between the A pillar and the roof helped. That was a proper brown trousers moment.

[RocketLawnChair]

I had a car that could only get up to 30 on Manchester Road, Problem was I lived at 84.

[Chobulous]

Certainly a twitchy moment. I'm not sure I fully understand though - if you were in the nearside lane, why were cars on your left?

Because as you pass J2 the traffic is joining the motorway at J2 so 2 lanes become 3 and what was the nearside lane becomes the middle lane after the junction.

[Dougall]

I was about 8 when two big lads from Stonyholme came up to Heasandford looking for trouble!!

[Sutton-Claret]

My first car, an 11 year old Peugeot 206 used to randomly cut out on me. Thankfully it was usually when I was slowing down to approach a junction or something similar and not at 70mph. Still to this day cannot figure out what caused it, and the car used to restart immediately if I turned the ignition. It was hair raising though losing control of the steering even at low speeds.

I had a 206 that did the same thing, a GTi that I imported from Holland. Drove back across Holland onto the ferry to Hull - luckily it happened on a quiet section of the M62 - managed to coast onto the hard shoulder. 2nd time it happened was in the middle of the Leeds one way system at rush hour..... I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the time. I managed to push it to the side of the road with idiots beeping at me and nobody stopping to help me push - says a lot about Leeds folk.....

[JohnMac]

My first car, an 11 year old Peugeot 206 used to randomly cut out on me. Thankfully it was usually when I was slowing down to approach a junction or something similar and not at 70mph. Still to this day cannot figure out what caused it, and the car used to restart immediately if I turned the ignition. It was hair raising though losing control of the steering even at low speeds.

Back in the pre electronic ignition/diagnostic testing days of the 1980's I had a similar problem with similar sudden stops in traffic.

My neighbour discovered after hours of fault finding using a process of elimination, a hairline crack in the rotor arm.

[Burnley1989]

I had a car that could only get up to 30 on Manchester Road, Problem was I lived at 84.

That's one to bank for Xmas day at the in-laws

[houseboy]

I phoned Green Flag and was stood on the hard shoulder for 2 hours before the recovery vehicle turned up. It was effing freezing and total darkness other than headlights from vehicles rushing past 3 feet away. The car was in the garage for 4 hours before they found the problem. Damaged earth strap apparently.

I've been in Green Flag on and off for years. I think you can get some partial refund or other for waiting that long because I think they pretty much guarantee being there in half an hour. Worth checking out bud.

[Hipper]

I was driving a transit van on the North Circular (a very busy dual carriage way around London) when smoke started pouring out of the air vents into the cab. Naturally I assumed the engine was on fire. Fortunately there was a side road that I could turn into so I did that, stopped the engine, got my bag and jumped out of the cab. I expected the van to be consumed by fire but nothing happened.

It turned out that a plastic bag had hit the engine, melted and the smoke came in the cab!

[Chobulous]

I've been in Green Flag on and off for years. I think you can get some partial refund or other for waiting that long because I think they pretty much guarantee being there in half an hour. Worth checking out bud.

Thanks but I get Greenflag for free because I have an account with Natwest bank.

[SammyBoy]

Back in the pre electronic ignition/diagnostic testing days of the 1980's I had a similar problem with similar sudden stops in traffic.

My neighbour discovered after hours of fault finding using a process of elimination, a hairline crack in the rotor arm.

I had mine in the garage a couple of times to get it checked out, but they couldn't pinpoint anything. At one stage I thought I may have been going crazy and unknowingly stalling it, although I can't see how as it didn't do the juddering associated with a stall. Anyway, I upgraded earlier this year so fingers crossed this one won't cause me any grief for a while

[tim_noone]

I was about 8 when two big lads from Stonyholme came up to Heasandford looking for trouble!!

[Bosscat]

As a 16 yr old back in 74 I got a moped to travel to work on (Shifts and Pennine Buses not running at times I needed, transport was required) a Gilera 50 sports moped ... quite a quick machine ... before the regulations changed in the later 70's.

I was riding one morning into the sun and something hit my sunglasses smashing the lens. I managed not to fall off the bike and pulled over to the side.... unable to see out of my right eye, my face was covered in what felt like bloody pulp. As I took off my helmet I realised I could still see out of my eye (thankfully).
I had been hit by a bloody flying beetle and it was all over my face.... (I can still taste the disgusting yuck today ewwwwwwww)
Needless to say I continued gently to work, and at the end of my shift went into "Car and Kitchen" in Settle and bought a visor for the crash helmet.