Your bad driving habits can cause harm to your vehicle. At times you do it unknowingly. Taking care of your car is vital as it saves you more repair costs and prolongs its lifespan. If anything, treat your car just the way you babied it when you first got it. It is worth it in the long term.
Adopt the proper driving habits and always take your car for routine maintenance. If any repairs are necessary, use quality vehicle products from reputable companies such as Old World Industries. Here is a list of six bad driving habits that may be harming your car even without your knowledge.
Table of Contents
Riding or dragging the brakes
You can assume you are extra safe and cautious as a driver, but having your foot on the brake pedal all through can harm your braking system. Note that every time you tap on the brake pedal, even if you do it softly, it causes heat buildup. Excessive braking causes the braking system to warp or overheat, causing premature wear and tear of the rotors and pads. Again dragging the brakes increases the possibility of wear on the brake pads and discs. You may be doing that because you are driving downhill, but you can avoid that by downshifting to a low gear.
Immediate stops
Making sudden stops is hazardous to your braking system. Although sudden stops are necessary to prevent unforeseen collisions, you can avoid sudden stops by keenly focusing on traffic patterns as you drive. That allows you to anticipate when you will need to brake and start engaging the action early. By smoothly pressing the brakes, you can save more on brake pads and rotors repair.
Overloading your vehicle
Although modern cars can carry heavy loads, that doesn’t mean that you should overload them. The more you throw loads into your car, the more it weighs, the harder the braking becomes, and the harder the engine, transmission, and suspension will need to work. Heavy loads may not strain your car’s parts but negatively impacts your fuel economy and emission output. Keep your car as light as possible which also makes it better to drive.
Driving on low fuel
It is not a good idea to wait until the fuel price drops to fill up your tank. Keep in mind that many modern cars have an electric fuel pump that relies on gasoline to cool it down. So, when you drive with a near-empty tank or on fumes, the fuel pump can overheat and fail prematurely. Ensure you always drive with at least 1/4full tank.
Hitting potholes and bumps
The potholes and bumps on the road are best avoided. The impact of hitting potholes and bumps is lumping in the tires, cracked alloys, buckled wheels, and it also interferes with the tracking and wheel balancing. If you see potholes on the road, it is best to avoid them. Ensure you slow down when driving over a speed bump as well.
Ignoring warning signs
Never ignore warning signs on the dashboard, as some need to be checked at the earliest opportunity. Find out from your manual what the warning signs mean so that you can always take immediate care of serious ones even when driving.
The final words
Your driving habits can make or break your car, so it is best to avoid bad driving habits to prolong your vehicle’s life.