A mechanic has shared an emergency DIY trick you can use to get your car off the road when it breaks down.
This hack is free and takes just a few seconds, and while it won't permanently fix the problem, it should give you enough strength to hobble home or to the nearest garage.
Scotty Kilmer, who has been in the motor industry for 50 years, revealed that a seemingly small component under the hood could be the key to even more range.
On his YouTube channel, he explained what to do if your car is having trouble “stumbling” or failing to accelerate.
If you lose power while you're out and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a recovery truck, this might get you back to safety.
Scotty said, “Today I'm going to show you some tips for getting home when your car isn't working.
“Let's say your car is staggering or not accelerating properly.
“In some cases, the air flow sensor may be the culprit.
“This measures how much air goes into the engine.
“Just pull the plug.”
A small sensor is usually located on the air filter box and connected to the engine by a large intake hose.
Modern motors with electronic fuel injection allow the vehicle's computer unit to detect the amount of air being drawn in through the filter.
This means the car knows how much fuel to inject to maintain a stable air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber.
If this is not present, the mixture may become unbalanced and the engine may become less efficient.
However, if your engine is already not working properly, unplugging the sensor may be a quick fix.
Scotty added, “The computer will turn on the check engine light.
“But there's also a lot to it.” [pre-programmed] Built-in graphs to help your car run as well as possible without retrieving data. ”
So, in case the sensor fails, the car returns to the baseline performance level programmed by the manufacturer.
This could give you enough performance and range to get you off the road and back home or to a mechanic who can diagnose the real problem.
Just remove 2 screws and install new screws
Scotty Kilmer
Not only that, but it can really save you money, especially if you don't have breakdown coverage.
British police charge £150 for emergency removal and £20 a day for storage if they are forced to stop because they are blocking a road.
Even with cover, it can cost more than £100 a year.
But Scotti was quick to emphasize that simply removing the sensor is not a permanent solution.
He added: “You don't want to continue driving like this forever because it will compromise pollution control inside the car.
“But if you just need to get home or go to your local auto parts store, you can just remove two screws and install new ones.”
This comes after The Sun exclusively revealed that the British Olympic legend was banned from driving after being caught speeding.