Modern cars are known for the safety features they offer. They always run smoothly and do not need a lot of personal maintenance. However, there are still many things that must be avoided to keep your car running well on the roads and for you to be safe. As a mechanic by profession, today, I am going to discuss 15 such things that you must indeed avoid at all costs. If you don’t keep them in your mind, you will probably regret it.
Go through everything to make sure everything goes well, and you never face any problems while you are out in your car.
1. Never put the car on reverse gear while driving
This is one of the most important things that you should avoid while driving a car. Reverse gear must only be put on when the car is not steady. Doing this can be extremely risky as the car will stop, or its engine will simply stall. This is one of the main lessons taught in driving school; however, some people still tend not to know this. It is very common for a sane person not to commit to this, but knowing a common fact does not harm anybody.
2. Never put too many keys in the ring of your car key
Putting too many extra keys in your car key ring will surely put extra and unwanted weight on it. Over time, this practice can cause damage and harm to the ignition switch to your car. When you are in a hurry, you might also get confused with all the keys. Keys can also damage the main ring of your car’s key, which is never a good thing. An excellent advice would be to just separate the extra keys or maybe only keep the keys that are the most important ones.
3. Never ignore the time when you should change your car’s oil
Generally, cars display whenever they need maintenance. However, you should still keep an eye on the quality of the oil. Car’s oil helps the engine to run freely and is supposed to replaced every 1000 km. You can also follow the instructions in your particular car’s manual to get more information about this. Some manufacturers use a type of oil that is very thin. In such cases, the oil needs to be changed more frequently as it may get sootier quicker than the thicker versions of car oils.
4. Never keep your car running when the fuel has reached a minimum
An empty tank is a dangerous thing. Try not to face it by filling the fuel tank from time to time. However, even after doing this, there can be emergencies. Be prepared and responsible, though. This practice is always asked to be avoided because fuel tends to have many tiny particles that settle on the bottom of a tank. Gravity keeps them there, and when the tank is empty, these particles may stick to the car’s engine. You should decide to have a fuel refill when there is only 25% of fuel left in your car.
5. Never let moisture develop in your car’s windows and glasses
This generally happens when the weather is cold. Moisture just starts making a film inside the windshield of cars. In only a few minutes, you cannot set what is happening outside of your car. Whenever this happens, you should quickly take action. Otherwise, this may lead to accidents and tragedies. In these cases, you have to simply make your car cooler. Therefore, try turning the AC of your car to the maximum. Doing this will ensure quick removal of moisture from the windshield and other glasses of car windows.
6. Never turn the engine off while you are driving
Keys never let the engine shut off while you are driving. They remain locked in the ignition hole and just don’t turn. However, when cars have ignition buttons for starting them, this button can indeed be pressed. All these modern cars, yet, have all the safety measures so that no harm occurs. It is still a bit of advice for you to never do it and try to minimize the causes of these accidents.
7. Never ignore any warning sign
As mentioned earlier, warning signs are always displayed in your car’s display. Generally, all these signs are shown in different colors. Yellow or orange signs may need a car part that needs servicing. But when the signs are red, it means that some severe issues and problems are going inside your car. If you notice this kind of sign while you are driving, you should try to stop. If you are not able to do that, just turn the danger lamp on and drive safely to reach a place as soon as possible.
8. Never drive an unbalanced car
The wheels of a car decide its overall balance. When these wheels are not balanced and in-level, you might just hit the curb of pavements. You will also notice a loss in the control of your car if this is the case. Your car may also start going in the way that it is aligned towards and not in a straight manner. Whenever you take your car to the service center, ask the servicemen to check whether the wheels of your car are perfectly balanced or not.
9. Never ignore the tires
The pressure of car tires must always be checked frequently. Generally, flat tires cannot be felt. You have to see them for knowing that this has happened. Hence, taking a look at the tires before you hop in the seat is a good thing to do. If you run your car having flat tires, you will wear the tires exceptionally quickly. Doing this is also very unsafe and dangerous.
10. Never put false coolants in your car
The cooling system of every car requires a particular and high-quality coolant. Mixing different types of coolants to cut maintenance costs will only lead to damage in the cooling system in the future. Doing this can also lead to failure of the cores and piper of your car’s heater. Buying the right coolant may take some extra money from you rather than buying the local option, but it will never cause long-term and irreversible damage in your car’s internal parts.
11. Never fill the tires of your car more than they are supposed to be filled
It is always a good thing to keep checking and rechecking the pressure of your car tires by air compressor. But you also have to make sure this pressure to not exceed the recommended limits. Additionally, filling your tires too much may cause premature wearing of the tire surface. What good is that? You will just end up spending money that you weren’t supposed to waste. Filling tires too much will also give an unwanted bounce to the car. Such bounces can increase friction and movement in the car’s parts and eventually cause slight harm.
12. Never use regular detergents to wash your car
Regular detergents are always aggressive in cleaning. This is because they are supposed to clean dirt and kill germs. However, one problem with them is that they take the shine of items away that are washed using them. This generally happens with dishes and can be easily ignored. But, detergents are not the option when it comes to the paint and waxy surface of your car. The car’s paint and wax help the car to reflect the UV rays of the sun. Washing your car with regular detergents instead of good car wash soap will scrape these protective layers off. Hence, you must always avoid doing that.
13. Never leave any drinks inside your car
If any of the drinks that you have left in your car spill accidentally; a big mess will happen. Cleaning this mess is a task that just cannot be done by yourself. You will require professional help with this. Additionally, you will also need to spend unwanted money on such services. If these drinks fall on the panels of your car, that case will be even more damaging. Therefore, never forget to take your drinks like water and soda with yourself as soon as you skip out of your car or you can use a car cup holder.
14. Never smoke while you are getting fuel filled in your car
Of course, this sounds like something that is exaggerated. But there is undoubtedly no harm in taking precautions and being safer. When you think of lighting a cigarette, you will take your lighter on, which is hazardous at a fuel station. Some stations do not allow people to do harmful things like this, but as a car owner, you should be personally responsible for your safety as well as the safety of citizens around you. Keep a car ashtray if you generally smoke.
15. Never drive barefoot
It is not very harmful to drive without shoes when you are going at a very low speed, and there is no traffic around you. But in cases of heavy traffic or high-speed areas, there may be cases when you need to press the brakes of your car very hard. If you are not wearing shoes, this might not be achieved. And even when it is achieved, it might probably hurt your feet a lot to do so. Always wear shoes while you drive.
Conclusion
I feel that I have covered everything here to have a safe car-driving experience. But feel free to research this topic because there is no such thing as being – too safe. Always be responsible and act like it. This way, you will never cause any damage to your car or yourself.