RAC battery warranty issues

AdrianC

Simply "driving with warning lights on" can be Russian Roulette, especially if you aren't making a decision based on an understanding of what causes them to come on.

As a rough guide...

Engine management - if it's basically running OK, you're probably alright to keep going.

Charge light - you've got a short while to get to somewhere safe, no real panic, but keep an eye for electrical oddities warning you you're pushing it, especially if you've got lights/wipers on. Turn all except essential electrics off.

Coolant - Stop as soon as you can that isn't actively dangerous, before you cook the engine expensively.

Oil pressure - Hazards on, into neutral and turn the engine off NOW, then coast to the roadside - and you might not need to replace the entire engine.

greencar

Thanks, I'll bear those in mind! [Inevitably, I had the wipers and lights on when this happened as well!] I haven't been able to find the next working day thing in the T&Cs, so I wonder if they've changed them. I will ask for clarification, though.

facade

AdrianC wrote: »

As a rough guide...

Even simpler, if the light is red, it means you mustn't drive the car whilst it is on.

If it is yellow, then you can continue to drive, but something requires attention while it is on (the engine management light , low fuel, rear fog lights)


Green lights tell you that things are on or operating that are part of the normal driving of the car

AdrianC

facade wrote: »

Even simpler, if the light is red, it means you mustn't drive the car whilst it is on.

If it is yellow, then you can continue to drive, but something requires attention while it is on (the engine management light , low fuel, rear fog lights)

It's a nice simple way of looking at it, but I'm really not sure I trust cross-industry standardisation enough to come out with it except in extremis.

It's far better to say to people "Think about what the light is actually telling you."

Hermione_Granger

AdrianC wrote: »

Oil pressure - Hazards on, into neutral and turn the engine off NOW, then coast to the roadside - and you might not need to replace the entire engine.

Unless you are advising a very experienced driver (who would probably know what to do anyway), that is not something I would suggest.

Why?
Turn the engine off and you lose power steering assistance and brake servo assistance, both of which could easily cause a driver to panic if they were not expecting it.
Also if someone saw the oil pressure light had illuminated and rushed to turn the engine off, there is a very good possibility of turning the key too far and causing the steering lock to engage so they would end up with a car in a live traffic lane with no power steering, no servo assisted brakes and no way to steer the car towards the hard shoulder.

AdrianC

Hermione_Granger wrote: »

Unless you are advising a very experienced driver (who would probably know what to do anyway), that is not something I would suggest.

Why?
Turn the engine off and you lose power steering assistance and brake servo assistance, both of which could easily cause a driver to panic if they were not expecting it.

If the oil pressure light's on for a reason, then it's not running for very much longer anyway,

You can still steer, you can still brake. They'll be a bit heavier, but they WILL be there.

Also if someone saw the oil pressure light had illuminated and rushed to turn the engine off, there is a very good possibility of turning the key too far and causing the steering lock to engage

Which is why steering locks require the key to be removed to kick in, not just turned off.

loskie

The £90 being towed from home it is likely that you do not have home start.

Your story is quite vague

foxy-stoat

greencar wrote: »

but I was taking a mother of two I hardly know home across the M62,

Very lucky to be on the M62 within 1/4 mile from your home, I would hate to live right on a motorway.

Hermione_Granger

AdrianC wrote: »

You can still steer, you can still brake. They'll be a bit heavier, but they WILL be there.

I know that they WILL be there which is why I clearly stated that the driver would only lose the assistance from the power steering pump and brake servo.

AdrianC wrote: »

Which is why steering locks require the key to be removed to kick in, not just turned off.

I take it that you've never driven an old Ford which when the keys & lock get worn, most certainly will allow the steering to lock when the key is in the "off" position and still inserted.
Then you have a number of cars with keyless ignition which may require the start/stop button to be held in for a few seconds before the engine stops.
I still it's very foolish to suggest that an inexperienced driver can safely:

1/ Take one hand off the steering wheel to put the car into neutral,
2/ Switch the ignition off, something that would have a 50% chance of requiring them to take hold of the steering wheel with both hands then take their other hand off to turn the key.
3/ Coast to the side of the road with no engine power, no power steering and no brake servo assistance,
and depending on the class of road and the lane they were in at the time, possibly do all of the above whist having to navigate through 1 or 2 lanes of moving traffic.

AdrianC

Hermione_Granger wrote: »

I take it that you've never driven an old Ford which when the keys & lock get worn, most certainly will allow the steering to lock when the key is in the "off" position and still inserted.

So some cars, when broken, don't do what all cars have been legally required to for decades.

Gotcha.