As if you didn’t already know, there are plenty of ways that you can ruin your car. Most people fail to reach a complete stop before shifting, never ever use their parking brake, and tend to keep driving on E. Add more life and value to your vehicle and try not to make these common everyday mistakes that will without a doubt end up completely ruining your car.
1. If you are parked on a slight incline, you are putting all of the stress on your car and its transmission if fail to make use of your parking brake. You must know that the only thing keeping the car steady is a one tiny pin called a parking pawl. When you utilize the parking brake, you lock up the non-drive wheels and the driving wheels. Thus, the stress is taken off of your vehicle’s transmission. Multiple years are taken off the life of your transmission and your car if you never use your parking break. So if you don’t know where it is find it, know it, and use it whenever necessary.
2. Surprisingly not everyone does this, but you should change your oil every 3,000 miles, 5,000 miles if you want to stretch it to its limit. Frequent changes to your oil will actually double your car’s life and it’s no lie that it automatically improves your performance. If you wait until check engine oil light comes on, that means your oil has turned to black molasses, which is completely useless, and in most cases very harmful to your engine.
3. Avoid riding the brakes especially when driving down a hill. This is a frequent mistake. When going down hills, you want to alternate between braking and letting off the brake. This will prevent your brake pads from wearing down at a fast rate. If you do happen to ride down hills on your brakes, stop immediately. In fact, your brake pads are probably completely worn out by now.
4. One of the most common errors in drivers is that they begin to shift before completing a stop. When you are pulling out of a parking space, and you shift your gears into drive while you are coasting backwards, months maybe even years of wear is all of a sudden added to your transmission. This happens in the matter of seconds. You can severely damage your drive shafts by doing this. And it will inevitably lead to a sloppy suspension and perhaps a completely burnt out transmission.
5. Tons of drivers start their vehicle the wrong way. If you have your radio on, your AC or heat blasted, or even your wipers going at the time you start your engine, it has to work ten times harder to start. To add to that, “revving” up your engine under extremely cold conditions does not heat your car up any faster. What it actually does is cause extreme temperature fluctuations, ones that can be really harmful to your engine. The best thing to do is to let your car sit idle for about 30 seconds or a minute before taking off.
6. A lot of drivers also let their tanks go to almost empty before filling up. Many people keep driving even after their gas tank light has come on. This is a definite no no. Running your gas down to empty can and will cause major problems. It can severely cut the life of your fuel pump because the fuel’s main function is to cool the pump. It is highly recommended to keep your gas tank as full as possible, especially in the coldest months.
It is very important to understand what you are doing wrong when it comes to driving and maintaining your car in the most responsible way. It’s an awful idea to ignore car sounds, let the interior become messy, pressure wash your engine, or accidentally leave your car lights on and killing your battery time and time again. Remember to change your oil frequently, replace all car parts as needed, and keep your gas tank filled or at least at halfway. If you begin to avoid these common mistakes your car will live much longer than it would have before. So drive practical.