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How to Prolong the Life of Your Vehicle in Very Simple Ways


How to Prolong the Life of Your Vehicle in Very Simple Ways

Graham Brightwell
December 17, 2012


Driving with care does not stop after you break-in your vehicle. If you drive with much care every single day, you will be rewarded with a lot longer intervals without a visit to the repair shop.

Here are some very simple ways on how to help the engine of your car stay in good condition for many years.

1. Whenever you start to drive your vehicle, make sure you accelerate slowly. The most engine wear can occur during the first 10-20 minutes of driving.

2. Contrary to common belief, warming your engine by allowing it idle is not ideal. Your engine, in this case does not function in its peak temperature, which results into incomplete fuel combustion, oil contamination, soot deposits on cylinder wall, and damage on engine parts.

3. Shift your gear to neutral whenever you are at red lights. This will put your engine into less strain. If you do otherwise, you will make your engine push your vehicle even when it is not running.

4. Do not accelerate rapidly or drive at very high speeds particularly during summer or winter. This driving behavior will bring more wear to your engine than when you are driving with care.

5. You can also prolong the life of your tires when you drive carefully. As much as possible, avoid sharp stops, starts, and turns. Do not drive over puddles, potholes and other rough obstacles on the road. When parking, be sure not to hit your tires on the curbs or run over them.

6. Whenever you steer your wheel, never hold the wheel in an extreme left or right position for more than a couple of seconds. Otherwise, you will damage your power-steering pump.

7. Avoid too much short driving trips. Most engine wear and tear happens during the first several minutes of driving. So by doing many short errands can give your engine a lot of potential damages. Therefore, it is better to do a number of errands all at once, if possible. This practice will also spare the natural environment from pollution.

Of course, driving with care is not the only element into prolonging your engine's life. Regular cleaning of the interior and exterior of your engine and your vehicle as a whole as well as regular changing of your engine lubricant will surely add more years to your automobile. The ideal interval for oil change is every 3,000 miles.

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