There are a couple of things that we all do while driving, and they seem harmless, but these habits are wearing your car down. Here are a couple of things that we should try to stop to make our vehicles last longer.
Using Your Parking Brake
If you do not use your parking brake, you are putting all the weight onto the parking pawl, a little piece of metal in the transmission, and your pawl will gradually wear down. The P for parking on your shifter is meant to stop your car from moving and it will not be easily pushed by a person or gravity, but the parking brake negates this.
Leaving Your Hand on the Shifter
If you have a manual car, doing this puts pressure on the transmission’s synchronizes and will eventually lead to you needing a repair sooner and more often.
Going from Reverse to Drive Without Stopping
We usually switch in between the two while slowly rolling backwards to parallel park or backing up into a parking spot. This action strains the drive train because of the sudden shift of direction your vehicle must go. It is best to take a couple more seconds before changing to drive so you can go more time without a repair.
Braking Down a Hill
It is common to think that as you go down a hill you need to brake so that your car doesn’t roll down too fast and you hit a car on the way down. This is great because you are being a thoughtful driver, but it is putting stress on your brakes. An alternative is change into a lower gear so that the natural drive train will take over and can accommodate for the steepness.
Ignoring the Noises
After driving your car for a while, you may start experiencing noises coming from different parts of your car. These sounds are the first indication that something in your car is wearing down or something needs replacing. There is always the possibility that it is nothing, but it does not hurt to at least get it checked out.
