Thursday, May 16, 2013

5 Serious Mistakes in Car Maintenance
  • Roaming Around with Burned-out Lights
Compared to most other car maintenance, it's relatively easy and inexpensive to replace light bulbs. So do it. You should know pretty quickly if your headlights or high beams burn out since you won't be able to see, and the turn signal indicators on your dash should clue you in if something's wrong there. Running lights, taillights and brake lights aren't quite as obvious, so just take a look every now and then.

  • Attempting a Jump Start Without Really Knowing How
Putting jumper cables in your trunk doesn't mean you automatically know how to jump-start a car, but at least you did it before your battery died, right? But if you don't use jumper cables properly, you can fry your car ... or yourself. Though the procedure is really simple, you should learn how to do it before you actually need to. Not standing on the side of the highway while reading this article on your phone. That's dangerous

  • Haphazard Electric Work
Some automotive pros say that the current in your car isn't strong enough to really hurt you but it's always better to be on the safe side, which means assuming that you could sustain injury [source: AA1Car]. Even if you don't suffer an electrical shock, you could easily start an electrical fire, or possibly overload your car's wiring or other electrical components. So, you should know what you're dealing with ahead of time. Make sure your car is off when it needs to be off (which would be most of the time) and remember to disconnect (and then isolate) the battery's negative cable. And if you drive a hybrid car with a high-voltage battery, avoid touching the battery at all costs. Since hybrids are designed specifically for heavy-duty electrical power, the battery has much more shock potential than an average car and can cause injury on contact.

  • Assuming Bald Tires will last a bit Longer
It's always tempting to try to squeeze a few more miles out of your rubber, but it's certainly not wise. You need to give your car what it needs to maintain proper contact with the road. Think of all you ask your car to do for you, every single day. Now imagine picking up the kids from school in a snowstorm wearing flip-flops, or taking the dog for a run while wearing stilettos. It's all wrong. Your feet need better equipment to get the job done. So does your car.
  • Sloppy Lube Job During Brake Repair
Even though brake jobs typically aren't (strictly speaking) all that difficult, a lot of amateur mechanics like to hire a pro for this kind of work. And it's understandable. Screwing up a brake job can have pretty serious consequences, for obvious reasons. Your car's brakes work because of friction. It's not entirely that simple, but that's the basic principle. When you press (or slam) the brakes, hydraulic pressure in the system makes your brake calipers and brake pads squeeze in, and this friction causes your wheels to slow down.

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