A car was brought to a repair shop because it couldn’t start after being towed by another vehicle. The inspection result showed that the gearbox had shattered, and the engine was locked.
According to The Drive, a technician stated that the incident happened when the owner of a Fiat 500 went camping at the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA.
The car’s gearbox was destroyed, and the engine locked due to a driver’s mistake – 1 The Fiat 500 owner had an expensive lesson when forgetting to shift the car into neutral while being towed (Video: Careful_Dig4627/Reddit). The exact distance the car was towed is unclear, but it’s not as crucial as the speed it was towed at.
As per the technician’s estimate, the recreational vehicle (RV) reached speeds of up to 129 km/h, and the driver forgot to put the Fiat 500, a 2018 model, into neutral when it was being towed behind. It was left in gear 1 instead, causing the 1.4L engine to spin at 15,000 revolutions per minute.
The consequence was extensive damage to both the gearbox and the engine. The video shows the gearbox casing shattered into pieces.
The car was equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission and had only traveled 70,811 km, but now both the gearbox and the engine were damaged.
The repair cost amounts to $18,000, more expensive than buying a new car, so the insurance company decided to scrap the vehicle.
A new Fiat 500 of this type costs around $17,500 in the US.
This is a lesson learned about towing a car. A small mistake can cost you the entire car.
Aside from the aforementioned towing situation, drivers should also consider some points in case they need to call for roadside assistance to avoid causing further damage to the vehicle. Specifically, drivers need to accurately report the type of car and the drive system when contacting the rescue center. This helps the rescue center dispatch the appropriate support vehicle.
There are three main drive types: front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive (AWD) or four-wheel drive (4WD). For front-wheel-drive vehicles, both towing and transporting methods can be used. For towing, the rescue vehicle lifts the front wheels while the rear wheels remain on the ground and are pulled behind.
For rear-wheel-drive vehicles, both towing and transporting methods can also be used. For towing, the rescue vehicle raises the rear wheels while the front wheels remain on the ground and are pulled behind.
For vehicles with two-wheel drive, it’s advisable to use transport assistance to avoid impacting the vehicle’s drive system. In case towing is necessary, a roller should be used for the remaining wheels not in contact with the road when the car is being towed. If no roller is available, when the towed vehicle’s wheels spin, it will apply reverse force to the transmission and gearbox while the engine is inactive, and inadequate lubrication will increase friction and damage engine components.
In summary, the driving wheels should not make contact with the road when the vehicle is being towed.
