Care and Maintenance Tips Keep Your Car Running in Top-Notch
Condition
We’ve compiled our best expert advice, surprising tricks, and car care tips to prolong the life of your automobile!
We’ve compiled our best expert advice, surprising tricks, and car care tips to prolong the life of your automobile!
1. Be patient during the break-in period
You’ve bought your dream car and now you want to make it last at long as
possible in top condition. Here are some things to remember as you pull it out
of the dealer’s lot:
- During the break-in period, typically the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km), keep your speed under 55 mph (88 kpm) or to the speed recommended by your car’s manufacturer.
- Avoid heavy loads on the drive train, such as towing trailers, and loading the roof rack or trunk with heavy construction materials.
- Do not allow your new car to idle for long periods — this is good advice for the life of your car, but especially during breakin. The oil pressure generated by doing so may not be sending oil to every part of your engine.
- Use only light to medium acceleration, keeping the engine rpms below 3,000 for the first few hours of driving.
2. Drive with care everyday
Being car considerate shouldn’t stop after the break-in. Drive with care every day and your car will reward you with longer intervals without repair.
Being car considerate shouldn’t stop after the break-in. Drive with care every day and your car will reward you with longer intervals without repair.
- Do not race your car’s engine during start-up.This is a quick way to add years of wear to your engine, especially if it’s cold outside.
- Accelerate slowly when you begin your drive.The most wear to the engine and drive train occurs in the first ten to twenty minutes of operation.
- Warming the engine by letting it idle in the driveway is not a smart idea.The engine doesn’t operate at its peak temperature, resulting in incomplete fuel combustion, soot deposits on cylinder walls, oil contamination, and ultimately damaged components.
- Put less strain on your engine and automatic transmission by shifting to neutral at red lights. Otherwise, the engine is still working to push the car even while it’s stopped.
- Avoid driving at high speeds and accelerating quickly, especially when it’s very hot or very cold outside. Such driving behavior will result in more frequent repairs.
- Extend the life of your tires with careful driving. Observe posted speed limits. Avoid fast starts, stops, and turns. Avoid potholes and objects on the road. Don’t run over curbs or hit the tire against the curb when parking. And, of course, don’t burn rubber.
- When turning your steering wheel, don’t hold it in an extreme right or left position for more than a few seconds. Doing so can damage the power-steering pump.
- Consolidate your short driving trips. Most of the wear and tear — as well as the pollution your car generates — takes place in the first few minutes of driving. Doing several errands at once, during low traffic hours if possible, will keep your engine happier longer.
3. Buy gas/petrol at reputable service stations
Ask whether the gas you buy is filtered at the pump and if the station has a
policy about changing the pump filters regularly. If you get a song and dance,
find another gas station. Some stations don’t have pump filters, making you
more vulnerable to dirty gasoline. Other stations may not mix alcohol and fuel
properly — or worse, water down their product. Find a station you trust and
stick to it.
4. Don’t fill up if you see the tanker
If you happen to see a gasoline tanker filling the tanks at your local gas
station, come back another day or go to a different station. As the station’s
underground tanks are being filled, the turbulence can stir up sediment.
Sediment in your gas can clog fuel filters and fuel injectors, causing poor
performance and possibly necessitating repairs.
5. Go easy when you’re stuck
When stuck in mud or snow, don’t make the problem worse by damaging an
expensive component. Gently rocking in an attempt to free the car is fine. But
if it looks as though you’re really stuck, don’t keep at it. Throwing your car
from forward to reverse repeatedly, as well as spinning tires at high speeds,
can generate lots of heat and spell trouble for transmissions, clutches, and
differentials. It may be cheaper in the long run to call the tow truck rather
than risk big repair bills down the road. It’s a good idea to carry a traction
aid in the trunk, such as sand, gravel, or cat litter.
6. Lighten up your key chain
Does your car key share a chain with a dozen or more other keys? That’s a
pretty heavy load hanging off the car key when it’s in the ignition.The weight,
combined with bouncing while you drive, can wear out the tumblers inside the
ignition and eventually lead to ignition switch failure.To add years of service
to your ignition switch, purchase a lightweight key chain that allows you to
separate your ignition key from the others. Drive with only the ignition key in
your ignition. If your ignition key “sticks” when you try to turn on the car,
it’s a warning that your ignition switch is about to fail. Replace it before
you get stranded.
7. Choose a good car insurer
Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, disaster inevitably strikes —
typically in the form of an accident. Make sure that your car will be repaired
to the best possible standard by finding an insurer that will pay for parts
from the original manufacturer and guarantee the repairs it authorizes.
8. Keep an auto log
Keep a pad and pencil in the glove compartment and use them to record your
gas fill-ups and mileage. If you notice that your gas mileage worsens, mention
it to your service man. It may be an early warning sign that something is wrong
with your car.
9. Preserve your car during long-term storage
If you are not going to use your car for more than a month, store it
properly to prevent unnecessary damage and repairs upon your return.
- Fill the gas tank to help prevent condensation from accumulating in the gas tank. Add a fuel stabilizer and drive the car around a bit to distribute the additive to engine parts.
- Wash and wax the car thoroughly to protect the finish.
- Place a vapor barrier on your garage floor. A 4-mil polyethylene drop cloth will do.
- Disengage the parking brake to help avoid brake corrosion.
- Put the car on jack stands to take the weight of the vehicle off the wheels and tires.
- Disconnect and remove the battery to keep it from draining. Place the battery on a trickletype charger. Or periodically drain the battery, using a small light bulb, and then recharge it with a low-volt charger.
- Plug the tailpipe with a rag to prevent moist air from infiltrating into it.
· 10. Park
in the shade
· Of course, a garage is always the
ideal place to park your car. But if one isn’t available, minimize interior
damage from UV sunlight and heat by always trying to park your car in the
shade. If no shade is available or if you find parking under a tree results in
bird droppings, use a car shade to minimize the sun’s impact. As a bonus,
you’ll have a cooler car to step into on hot sunny days. Car shades come in two
basic types: those that you unfold and place on the front windshield and rear
window, or pleated types that attach to the windshield posts (with adhesive),
window frames (with Velcro), or the windows themselves (with suction cups).
·
11. Clean
the inside, too
·
Vacuum and sponge your interior
every time you wash your car. Dirt particles are abrasive, and spilled liquids,
such as soda, can be corrosive.Vacuum your interior thoroughly with a powerful
vacuum (small cordless models are generally too weak). Use the appropriate wand
heads when vacuuming. The bare metal wand can mar and scratch surfaces. Sponge
vinyl surfaces clean with a solution of mild detergent and water.
·
12. Clean
dash gauges carefully
· Use a soft damp cloth to lightly
wipe dust from the clear plastic lenses on your dashboard. Too much pressure
will scratch them. Too many scratches can make it difficult to read your gauges
under certain lighting conditions.
·
13. Let
floor mats take winter’s beating
· Use floor mats to protect carpeting.
The best type for controlling salt, slush, and mud in winter are rubber
wafflestyle mats. They stay in place, don’t allow the water to seep through,
and are easy to wash clean. Carpet-style mats are helpful, too. Shake, vacuum,
or wash as needed; replace them as they wear through.
·
14. Blast
mats with the hose
·
When washing your car, drag out the
rubber or carpet floor mats and blast them with the hose.This will dislodge
dirt particles that, if allowed to build up, will grind holes in your mats. Let
the mats dry thoroughly in the sun before reinstalling them.
·
15. For
stubborn carpet or mat stains
· After vacuuming floor mats or
interior carpeting, apply foam rug cleaner to resistant stains as directed by
the maker. Work the foam into a few square feet at a time, using a wet sponge
or brush. Vacuum when dry.
·
1 16.
Preserve door and window seals
· Wipe a rubber protectant (such as
Armor-All) or silicone on door and window weatherstripping to keep it in good
condition. Don’t use an oilbased product, such as WD-40, because the oil will
damage the rubber. Regular cleaning and treatment of your car’s
weatherstripping will also lessen the likelihood of your door sticking to its
rubber seal in cold weather, a common cause of damage to the rubber.
·
17. Fix
bad weatherstripping immediately
·
If your weatherstripping is letting
rainwater leak into the interior of your car, take a look at it and decide if
you can repair it or if it needs to be replaced. Small leaks can be handled
with brush-on seam sealers. Resecure loose sections, not otherwise damaged,
with trim adhesive. Torn sections may be repaired with special caulking
available at auto parts stores. You may also be able to extend the life of
worn-but-intact sections by inserting foam rods, available at automotive
stores, into the hollow section of the weatherstripping. If you decide to
replace entire sections of gasket, don’t simply buy generic stuff such as you’d
use around the house. Buy a product that matches your car’s original
weatherstripping — it’s available in a wide variety of profiles from
dealerships and automotive mail-order catalogues.
·
18. Keep
leather from drying out and cracking
· Leather cars seats are durable and
don’t require a lot of maintenance. After a few years, however, the seats can
become soiled. Use a leather cleaner to remove dirt and stains.Then apply a
leather protectant formulated for pigmented or top-coated grain leather (the
leather used for most leather car upholstery). Protectants will resist stains
and make the upholstery easier to clean in the future. Choose a protectant that
includes conditioners to keep your leather supple.