Bad Driving Habits That Are Shortening Your Vehicles Life Span

In addition to regular servicing, check-ups and general care, driving behaviours and habits have a big impact on the lifespan of your vehicle and in turn, cost drivers big money in avoidable repair costs. In this blog post, we’ll run through the most common bad driving habits and behaviours that can cause damage and reduce the lifespan of your vehicle.

Riding On The Clutch

When stuck in traffic, it can be tempting to ride the clutch in order to keep edging forward with the steady flow of traffic – whilst this may be convenient, it’s definitely not good for your vehicle – causing premature deterioration of the clutch plate and resulting in clutch failure which is very costly.

If you do find yourself stuck in congestion, we recommend using your accelerator and brakes to keep a steady pace forward, don’t feel like you have to be right up against the car in front of you, and put your handbrake on when stationary.

Caring For Your Tyres

Checking your tyre pressure and pumping them up if necessary is one of the simplest and easiest checks you should be performing regularly on your vehicle, but unfortunately, many road users are reluctant to address any tyre underinflation or damage earlier – often resulting in avoidable replacement costs down the line.

The reason damage is caused when driving on underinflated tyres is because the lower the pressure – the more of the tyres surface area is in contact with the road causing friction and damage to the rubber.

Driving On Improper Alignment

This is another common issue that can cause damage to your tyres, reduce your fuel economy and cause accidents. When you drive on improperly aligned wheels, your vehicle will have a tendency to pull off to one side, which can be a real hazard if you’re unaware of it. In addition, having your wheels properly aligned will make ensure your vehicle absorbs road shock more efficiently.  

Rapid Acceleration and Braking

This is something many people do but are unaware of the damage it is causing to their car. Not only can rapid acceleration and braking be dangerous, particularly in built up area – but it also increases fuel consumption and puts a lot more pressure on your brake pads, wearing them out faster and making your next visit to the garage come sooner than expected!

Carrying Excess Weight In The Boot

Most vehicles can handle a bit of extra weight, but if your packing massive weight in the boot – or are using a small vehicle to tow a trailer or another car, some components of your vehicle will start to struggle and deteriorate including your suspension, brake pads and shock absorbers.

Autocare Tip: Most vehicle drivers manual will contain information about the maximum weight the vehicle can handle without being unsafe.

Revving Your Engine

Some drivers do this to show off, and others do it to ‘warm up the engine’ before setting off. Either way, it’s not a good thing to do, revving your vehicle can place unnecessary strain on some of the engine components, if you do want to warm your car up in the morning – leave the engine on for a few minutes before setting off.

Driving On Low Fuel

We’ve all done it, and often people will avoid filling up when their fuel light goes on until they reach a garage that is cheap. Unfortunately, doing this can cause damage to your vehicle, as the fuel gets lowers the car will start picking up the debris from the bottom of the tank – this can damage the fuel pump, fuel filter and catalytic converter.

Vehicle Servicing And Repair At Autocare

In addition to the behaviours above, one of the most common causes of costly repairs for drivers in skipping regular servicing and putting off repairs. To keep your vehicle in tip-top condition, we recommend having a full service once every 12 months or 12,000 miles – or straight away if you notice any damage or underperformance.

To book your vehicle in for a service or repair at Autocare, talk to one of our team ob 01291 627 137.