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Help, please: What to do when a car’s engine quits

By Connie Cass
Published June 7, 2014 7:53am ET
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Help, please: What to do when a car’s engine quits
FILE - This April 1, 2014 file photo shows the ignition switch of a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt in Alexandria, Va. The ignition switch on the Cobalt and other small cars was so poorly designed that it easily slipped out of the run position, causing engines to stall. Engineers knew it; as early as 2004, a Cobalt stalled on a GM test track when the driver's knee grazed the key fob. By GM's admission, the defective switches caused over 50 crashes and at least 13 deaths. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File) | Molly Riley

WASHINGTON (AP) — The faulty General Motors ignition switches blamed for dozens of crashes, some fatal, aren’t the only reason a moving car can suddenly stall. It happened to Bill Van Tassel a couple of weeks ago, as he was steering his Mazda Miata around a turn on an Interstate onramp.

“This type of thing could happen at any time. It’s going to be completely unexpected,” he says.

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