Owning and maintaining a vehicle is an important responsibility, overlooking our important maintenance items can have a very negative impact on your car.
-Shifting into Drive or Reverse when not completely stopped: If you have an automatic transmission, shifting into drive or reverse isn’t like switching from 1st gear to 2nd in a manual. If you force your transmission to do things it’s not intended to do, causes damage to your drive shafts and suspension.
-Riding the clutch: If you have a manual transmission(stick-shift), sometimes you may keep the clutch engaged even when it’s not time to brake or shift gears. This wreaks the hydraulic system-the pressure plates meet the flywheel. If you ride the clutch it causes the plates to graze the flywheel, wearing down the system in general and setting you up for sudden clutch failure in the future.
-Riding the Brakes Downhill: In Indiana we really don’t have the same type of hills like they have in San Francisco, but riding the brakes causes, in the long run undue war and tear on your braking system. If you have an option driving in a lower gear may be your better option.
-Improperly “Warming up” your car: Starting your car and letting it idle for a few minutes before you leave home on a cold morning is ok, but revving the engine right off the bat to “warm it up” is a bad idea. It can cause sudden temperature change that actually harms your car and forces the engine to work under load before the oil has a chance to fully circulate.
-Ignoring what your car tries to “tell” you: You know what your car sounds like, so when you start hearing unusual noises before a mechanical issues, before it becomes to severe. If you have a new rattle or hum, call us at Ricks Auto Service to check this out before the issue becomes a major repair.
