Asking the average car owner to draw up a picture in his/her head about a stalled car usually leads to an image of a parked car just not turning over. Cars don't just stall when parked. Vehicles may stall out when driving. Sometimes, they only stall out or hesitate briefly. Since the vehicle may only present problems briefly or intermittently, the driver might think the problem is minor. Doing so could prove to be a disastrous mistake. Taking the car into a shop for a diagnosis, proper inspection, and auto maintenance not only helps eliminate the problem, fixing the car could eliminate major safety hazards.

The Mysterious Not-So-Minor Stall

A car may be traveling somewhat smoothly down the highway until the speed takes a sudden drop. The vehicle could drop from 60 MPH to 45 MPH and then accelerate again. Everything seems normal, but it is not. The car should not be stalling out like this. "Minor" stalling is a major problem. At the very first sign of trouble, the vehicle should be taken into a garage for auto maintenance.

No One Knows What Can Happen

If a car starts to stall on the highway, carefully driving it off to the shoulder of the road or, possibly, off an exit assists would conceivably get the vehicle out of harm's way. And "I'll just get a tow truck if I stall" is the flippant response some take towards stalling. Unfortunately, no one can predict what may happen. For one, getting the car out of a lane before it completely stalls remains to be seen. Even if the vehicle is on the shoulder or off the highway completely, no guarantees exist the vehicle -- and the driver -- won't be hit by an oncoming car.

A malfunctioning vehicle really should not be on the road. A car showing signs of stalling needs to be fixed.

Avoid the Easy Assumptions

There is a myriad of problems that could cause stalling or hesitation. Some are relatively easy fixes and human nature leads people towards convincing themselves a fuel injection cleaning or switching out a spark plug is all that is required. In reality, crankshaft, throttle positioning sensor, fuel relay, or other major problems are manifesting.

Go Straight to a Garage

At a garage, proper road testing and a full diagnostic of a real garage-grade device -- not a roadside handheld device -- can be done. This way, the trouble afflicting the car can be quickly determined. Most importantly, the car may be efficiently repaired. Hopefully, this would eliminate any safety problems with the operation of the vehicle.