Is it a good idea to keep spare coolant and oil in your car?
By olisaur
@olisaur (1922)
United States
August 20, 2010 3:48pm CST
I have a friend that always keeps a bottle of oil and a bottle of antifreeze in the trunk of her car; she says it's good for emergencies.
I do not know much about cars, so I thought this was a logical idea but I was concerned about whether or not it could be a fire hazard or something.
I went on a long trip a couple weeks ago in my car, and I went with a spare bottle of oil in the trunk. I'm kind of glad I did because it didn't cause any problems and right when I was about an hour away from my destination my oil light went on. I put a little oil in and it seemed to put a band-aid on the oil issue.
I put this bottle of oil in a plastic bag, just in case it leaked (which it did, a lot, into the bag) and put it back in the trunk. I took it out, though because the oil just kept spilling more and more into the bag.
I have been looking for some coolant to keep in my car, but I can only find gigantic jugs of it.
1 person likes this
6 responses
@webzap (884)
• Philippines
23 Aug 10
Especially on long trips, you are right in keeping a bottle of anti-freeze and motor oil in your trunk. Better to have these things ready in case you got a problem with your engine. But I suggest also to keep a bottle of brake fluid and a spare engine fan belt. In case your fan belt give-up along the way, you can easily replace it and go, of course, you must have a set of tools handy too.
@jpso138 (7851)
• Philippines
21 Aug 10
I carry an engine oil and coolant in my car. I don't usually carry an extra fuel considering that I find it dangerous carrying a flammable product inside the vehicle. The longest road that we can travel in our are is around 150 kilometers. There is always a gasoline station in every municipality so if ever I run out of gas, there is not much to worry about. Unless, I travel by night long trip wherein most of the gas stations are already close. But I do not travel on such occasions. I always travel long trips on day time.
@kris182_2000 (5475)
• Canada
20 Aug 10
Always keep items like that in your car, it's an absolute necessity.
I remember when my waterpump quit on me, I didn't have enough coolant, and we kept running water through the reservoir to cool it down. I had a coolant leak at the same time, so was constantly re-filing, almost daily so my car wouldn't overheat.
A few weeks ago, I ran into trouble with my oil, I didn't have any, and something went wrong when driving and I lost power and brakes, on a high speed road. I was lucky to make it off the road in one piece, but used a lot of oil to get me going again.
It's better to keep sealed oil jugs in the car, you can buy 1 quart jugs and just use the entire contents, that way there are no spills to be had.
Never run out of oil or your engine could seize up.
@Adoniah (7512)
• United States
20 Aug 10
Gas is a fire hazard, but coolant is not flammable. Oil is not combustible unless the car is already on fire...lol As you have found out, it is a good idea to have some on hand. It is an even better idea to learn how to check your fluid levels yourself so that you never get surprised by "idiot lights" as they are called.
Most car parts stores now carry the quart sized coolant refill jugs. But even carrying a jug of water in the trunk is a good idea. You do not always have to add more coolant. In fact too much is not good for the car.
Shalom~Adoniah
@sender621 (14890)
• United States
21 Aug 10
It is always a good idea to be prepared. Check your vehicle often to see that oil or coolant are needed. Keep these items on hand.It may not be wise to carry them in your vehicle though. It could bring on unwanted problems if it is spilled.
@sinaj292 (602)
• India
21 Aug 10
i think this is not a necessary thing to do with our vehicle... it is better to check vehicle regularly... i think we can't do any thing with these things at the time of emergency.. i think check all things regularly is the better way to take caution against these things...
