السيارة تعطلت بالطريق.

A common urban Levantine pronunciation would be:

es-sayyāra tʿaṭṭalat biṭ-ṭarīʔ

A few notes:

• السيارة is usually pronounced es-sayyāra or is-sayyāra
• تعطلت often sounds like tʿaṭṭalat
• الطريق is often pronounced ṭarīʔ in many urban Levantine accents, because ق is commonly pronounced as a glottal stop ʔ
• Some speakers, depending on region or style, may keep q and say ṭarīq

So you may hear small regional variations, but the structure stays the same.

Because س is a sun letter.

In Arabic, when الـ comes before a sun letter, the l sound of al- is not pronounced. Instead, the next consonant is doubled.

So:

• السيارة is written with ال
• but pronounced as-sayyāra / es-sayyāra

The same thing happens in الطريق:

• written الطريق
• pronounced aṭ-ṭarīq / eṭ-ṭarīʔ

This is completely normal and very important for natural pronunciation.

Those two ت letters are doing different jobs.

• The تـ at the beginning is part of the verb pattern تعطّل
• The ـت at the end marks the past tense feminine singular

So in تعطلت:

• the first ت belongs to the verb itself
• the last ت shows that the subject is a feminine singular noun

This is a very common thing in Arabic verbs, so it is worth getting used to.

Because سيارة is a feminine noun in Arabic.

Arabic verbs must agree with their subject in gender, so with السيارة you use a feminine singular past verb:

• السيارة تعطلت

not

• السيارة تعطل

Even though a car is not biologically female, it is grammatically feminine, and Arabic treats it that way.

No. It is not a passive form.

It is an intransitive verb that means something like became out of order / stopped working / broke down.

The root is ع-ط-ل, which has to do with being out of service or not functioning.
So تعطلت is a normal verb form in Arabic, even if English often expresses the idea in a way that feels passive-like.

In Levantine, بالطريق is very natural for something happening while traveling or out on the road.

So:

• بالطريق sounds very idiomatic in speech
• في الطريق is also possible, but it can sound a bit more neutral or a bit more standard depending on context

In everyday Levantine, بالطريق is a very common choice.

Here it usually suggests that the problem happened during the trip or while on the road.

Depending on context, it can feel like:

• somewhere along the way
• while driving
• during the journey

If you wanted to be more specific and say in the middle of the road, you might say:

• بنص الطريق

So بالطريق is natural, but it is a little broader and more context-dependent.

Yes, absolutely.

Both are possible:

• السيارة تعطلت بالطريق
• تعطلت السيارة بالطريق

The difference is mostly about style and focus:

• السيارة تعطلت بالطريق sounds very natural in Levantine conversation, with the car as the topic
• تعطلت السيارة بالطريق can sound a bit more narrative or slightly more formal

In spoken Levantine, starting with the subject is very common.

It is understandable and natural enough, but it sits a little toward the neutral / standard-ish side.

In very casual speech, some speakers might say:

• السيارة خربت بالطريق
• السيارة وقفت بالطريق
• السيارة عطلت معنا بالطريق in some contexts

Still, تعطلت is perfectly good and widely understood. It does not sound strange.

Because Arabic verbs already carry subject information.

Once you say السيارة, you do not need another word for it.
In fact, even without the noun, تعطلت can mean it broke down, if the context already makes clear what it is.

That is normal in Arabic:

• the verb itself often tells you enough
• the noun is added when needed for clarity or emphasis

In Levantine, the normal past-tense negation is:

السيارة ما تعطلت بالطريق

So you usually use:

• ما + past verb

Examples:

• ما تعطلت = did not break down
• ما خربت = did not break

That is the most useful everyday pattern to remember here.