People have two options when buying a car, they can either go for an automatic transmission car or a manual transmission car. More people are switching or choosing an automatic one over the traditional manual vehicles. This is because automatic cars are more comfortable to drive compared to manual ones. It is also less stressing to the body in the midst of heavy traffic flow.
There are things that new drivers or manual vehicle drivers do that can be damaging to automatic cars.
Harmful Activities that Can Damage Your Automatic Car
Here are the things that you should not do when driving an automatic car:
1- Revving your car engine while parked
You might have seen movie characters revving their engines to show off or just for the heck of it. However, this is not something that you, an ordinary citizen of a non-movie universe, should be doing, especially if you are driving an automatic vehicle.
Sure, you just want to look cool, and you want your car to sound cool-- but at what cost? You are damaging your engine! Revving your engine while your automatic vehicle is parked, then you are risking your car getting a massive shock that results in friction between the engine's internal components. Now, you probably sold an arm, a leg and a kidney to buy this car-- just don't rev the engine.
2- Shifting your gears too early
If you used to drive a manual car in the past, then you might be used to switching gears while your vehicle is in motion. This makes sense because changing gears in a manual car is like getting the wand movement right in Harry Potter. But automatic cars do not need you to switch gear too early. Doing so can break your automatic car's gearbox . Habits die hard, but you need to kill it faster, or it might break down your vehicle instead.
3- Letting your car move while in neutral mode
You know how you can just let your car do its thing when you are going downhill? Do that while your automatic vehicle is in neutral and surely your car's health would be going downhill too. This trick can save you some fuel, but the lack of lubrication on the transmission can wear down your gear and engine. So would you rather spend a few dollars on gas or spend a whole lot of money on car parts?
4- Not heating your engine up before driving
You need to warm up your engine before you drive off your parking. Why? Because if you drive with a cold engine, then your car does not have enough time to let the fuel run through all of its parts. This can cause internal damages in your vehicle in the future. You just need to spare 5-15 minutes to ensure that your car fuel has enough time to run through the entirety of your car.
5- Shifting to park mode while your car is still moving
This has been covered previously, but this is to reiterate that you should not shift your gears too early. If you change to park mode while you are still moving, then you are setting yourself up for a life full of car repair expenses. Park mode causes the locking bin to go into a gear that is connected to the output shaft of your gearbox. Keep in mind that the wheels are also attached there, so when you lock it up while you are still maneuvering the wheel, then you are just begging to break your locking pin.
6- Allowing your fuel light to stay on longer than it should
First of all, what is a fuel light ? Automatic cars have a handy little feature that lets you know if your vehicle is low on fuel. This indicator blinks when you are almost out of gas. If you insist on driving around with not much gas to go around, then your car would suffer damages from lack of cooling and lubrication.
Bottomline
Cars are improving every year. Each release has a new feature that you never thought is possible-- or needed. And their prices are going up along with their quality. You have sold your soul to car financing providers and your job so that you can own a car-- so why do things to damage it? Humans can demand care, cars can't-- but as a car owner, you should know what your trusty vehicle needs.
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