Emergency DIY ‘trick’ can help you make it off the road when your car breaks down – it takes seconds & costs nothing
A MECHANIC has shared an emergency DIY trick you can use to make it off the road when your car has broken down.
The hack, which is free and takes just seconds, won’t fix the problem permanently but should give you enough power to limp home or get to the nearest garage.
Scotty Kilmer, who has 50 years under his belt in the motors industry, revealed that a seemingly tiny component under your bonnet could be the key to unlocking some extra range.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he explained what to do if you are struggling with your car “stumbling” or failing to accelerate.
If you find yourself losing power when you’re out on the road and don’t want to shell out hundreds on a recovery truck then this might just get you back to safety.
Scotty said: “Today I’m going to show you a trick to make it home if your car’s not running right.
“Let’s say your car’s stumbling or doesn’t accelerate right.
“Sometimes it’s the mass airflow sensor.
“This measures how much air goes into the engine.
“Simply unplug it.”
The small sensor is usually located on the air filter box, which is connected to the engine by a large intake hose.
In modern motors with electronic fuel injection, it allows the computer unit in the vehicle to detect how much air is being taken through the filter.
This then means that the car knows how much fuel to inject to maintain a stable air/fuel mix in the combustion chamber.
If this wasn’t present, the mixture could become imbalanced, making the engine less efficient.
However, if your engine is already not running correctly, unplugging the sensor could be a quick fix.
Scotty added: “The computer will turn the check engine light on.
“But it also has a bunch of [pre-programmed] graphs inside to make the car run as well as possible without getting any data.”
As such, the car will return to a baseline level of performance that was programmed in by the manufacturer in case the sensor was ever broken.
This could give you enough performance and range to get off the road and back home or to a mechanic who can diagnose the actual issue.
You can just take the two screws off and put a new one in
Scotty Kilmer
Not only that, but it’s a real money-saver especially if you don’t have breakdown cover.
Police in the UK charge £150 for an emergency removal plus a £20 daily rate for storage if you’re forced to stop while blocking the road.
And even if you have cover, that can cost upwards of £100 a year.
But Scotty was quick to emphasise that just unplugging the sensor was not a permanent solution.
He added: “You don’t want to drive it this way forever because it messes with the pollution controls in the car.
“But if it’s good enough to get you home or to the nearest auto parts store, you can just take the two screws off and put a new one in.”
It comes after The Sun exclusively revealed that a British Olympic legend had been slapped with a driving ban after being caught speeding.