{"id":3913,"date":"2021-12-10T12:15:09","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T23:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/?p=3913"},"modified":"2021-12-14T10:46:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T21:46:35","slug":"zen-guide-to-safely-stopping-when-your-brakes-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/zen-guide-to-safely-stopping-when-your-brakes-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"Zen guide to safely stopping when your brakes fail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Okay, we realise the headline might seem a little bit paradoxical, but here at My Auto Shop, we know the importance of staying calm no matter what situation you\u2019re in, especially when it\u2019s of the automotive variety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you\u2019re driving along, music blaring (invariably, right?) and you spot a red light up ahead.&nbsp; Coolio.&nbsp; Happens all the time.&nbsp; You squeeze the brakes, but there\u2019s no response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh no. You\u2019ve now got the brake pedal pressed firmly against the floor, and you\u2019re showing no signs of coming to a halt, at all.&nbsp; Before you do anything, remember to breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s nothing fun about a brake failure, and it can be quite an alarming experience.&nbsp; It\u2019s rare, but it does happen, and it\u2019s worth knowing what to do if it ever happens while you\u2019re out on the road.&nbsp; Quick segue here \u2013 our <a href=\"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/how-do-i-know-if-my-brakes-need-replacing\/\"><em>How do I know if my brakes need replacing<\/em><\/a> article is an essential read on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a couple ways you can handle the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Downshift, now!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A useful technique to slow down your car if you&#8217;ve just touched the brakes and nothing has happened is to shift down a gear using the gear stick. This can happen in any car, whether it&#8217;s manual or automatic.&nbsp; For manual, it\u2019s the stick shift that you\u2019re used to to go down a gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Skipping gears risks locking the wheels. You should be able to manually choose your ratios with the gear shifter or paddle shifters in what is known as a \u2018sport&#8217; mode or &#8216;sequential&#8217; mode in an automatic, which allows you to be in control of what gear your car is in and change them on the fly without the car&#8217;s computer taking over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What happens when you downshift?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you downshift, the vehicle engages its engine brakes, restricting airflow and creating a vacuum inside the engine \u2013 providing resistance to your cylinders. As a result, the engine slows down, and the car slows down too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Don\u2019t go into neutral<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Avoid putting your car in neutral, whether you&#8217;re driving a manual or an automatic transmission vehicle. Neutral gear will disable all engine braking and allow your vehicle to freely continue forwards \u2013 not good!<br><br>Also, if you find yourself in neutral and try to shift directly into a gear that&#8217;s too slow for the speed you&#8217;re going, your wheels may lock up, causing you to lose control of the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Use the handbrake in an emergency, without question<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A quick word of caution before you yank the handbrake up \u2013 you will want to ensure you\u2019re moving at a decreasing speed, even if you can\u2019t bring it to a complete stop.&nbsp; If you\u2019re hurtling full-speed ahead and jam the emergency brake, you\u2019re looking at one helluva skid-out \u2013 which is potentially<em> really <\/em>dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Try to avoid using the steering wheel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Within reason, because ultimately you are still driving the car \u2013 but try to avoid losing control of the vehicle, avoid sharp or sudden steering. You&#8217;ll be able to safely halt and maintain control by using gentle steering inputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Need help?  The My Auto Shop crew is here to help.  Head on over to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myautoshop.co.nz\/services-index\">service area<\/a>, give us an idea of what you&#8217;re dealing with and we&#8217;ll put you in touch with the right mechanic for the job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Okay, we realise the headline might seem a little bit paradoxical, but here at My Auto Shop, we know the importance of staying calm no matter what situation you\u2019re in, especially when it\u2019s of the automotive variety. So you\u2019re driving along, music blaring (invariably, right?) and you spot a red light up ahead.&nbsp; Coolio.&nbsp; Happens [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,39],"tags":[436,431,434,433,432,14,397,435],"post_folder":[690],"class_list":["post-3913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-how-to","tag-brake-safely","tag-braking","tag-downshift","tag-handbrake","tag-neutral","tag-safety","tag-steering-wheel","tag-stop-safely"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3913"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3928,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3913\/revisions\/3928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3913"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myautoshop.co.nz\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=3913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}