You may be taking all the right efforts to keep your car clean and running. From washing it weekly to lubricating it monthly, to all the visits to mechanics — you have been regular about all these. But still are you facing issues with your car? Is your car slipping out of your hands? Is it still wearing out early, and you are wondering of the steps that you have avoided to take in order to keep it properly maintained? Well, it isn’t maintenance always! Sometimes your way of driving damages your car too!
Yes, it is right! You actually would have read and reread the whole car manual to understand the problems occurring in your car again and again, and would have ignored questioning your own driving skills! If you would have taken your driving lesson in Melbourne from The Local Driving Academy, their reliable and experienced teachers would have taught you how lousy driving skills can negatively impact your car too.
Bad driving habits wearing out your car’s life!
Some driving habits have become a part of our regular driving routine. These are unintentional, and we don’t even know that these are actually killing the life of our car gradually. And most of the times we aren’t even aware of the mistake until it creates a huge damage for us. Let’s read about these habits before it damages your car really bad!
- Dragging brakes — Dragging the brakes is a really bad practice increases wear and tear on brake pads and discs. Because of this practise, you’ll have to replace them more frequently, which obviously adds to unnecessary expense. Also, when you are travelling downhill, always try taking a low gear, put some light pressured braking, and then leave the pedal gradually — that will allow the brakes to cool. This prevents the dragging of brakes, and thus increases your car’s life.
- Hand rested on the gearstick — Your driving teacher would have definitely told you to rest both hands on the wheel at all times, but not all of us follow those lectures. Many a times, we rest our hands on the gearstick. The gear-stick is actually connected to a selector fork, that is made to make contact with a rotating collar for a pretty less time. With your habit of resting your hand on the gearstick, you are actually risking applying pressure to the selector fork, which ultimately causes premature wear.
- Overloading your car — We know modern cars are designed to accommodate more weight than the previous ones. But loading it with unnecessary weight can strain your car too. The greater the weight you are carrying, the more strain you’re putting on the brakes, suspension and drivetrain. This obviously leads to shorter span of your car’s wellbeing.
- Shifting in reverse direction when stopping— The practice of moving between reverse or drive, and the other way around in a car with the modern gearbox is totally harmful for the transmission. This automatic box is specially designed to shift gears. it’s therefore better to leave the brakes for stopping the car. Shifting the gear pilot for stopping causes wear of the transmission band, rather than the brake discs and pads, which are serviceable items. Any pressure on the automatic transmission requires a repair, and that is why is quite costly.
- Hitting hard on potholes and speed breakers — Majority of damage caused to any vehicle is because of unseen and sudden hits on potholes or speed breakers. This impact can lead to buckled wheels, cause lumps in the tyre, and also lead to cracked alloys. This can also upset the tracking and wheel balance of the car.
- Reviving the engine when it is cold — We have heard about the importance of warming up of the car engine. Actually, the fuel in the engine is often cold when you start it — it takes some time to warm up. If this process is ignored, and the engine is directly started, then the fuel doesn’t thicken and the engine gets negatively impacted because of it.
- Late braking — There can be times when you have to put an emergency stop, in such cases, sudden braking is vital. But continuous late braking adds more strain on the brakes. This wears your pads and discs earlier, and cost you more fuel in the process.
Basically, a slow and thoughtful approach to driving and judging the road ahead better is the key to your car’s life and it’s good performance.
