8 Things You Should Never Ever Do To Your Auto Car
You can cut down your visits to the mechanic.
By John Lim
Anyone who drives would know that driving an auto car is much simpler than driving a manual
Honestly, who still knows how to drive a manual car? Hands up if you can't! Go ahead, nobody's gonna judge you. :P
While driving an auto car is a breeze, there are things you should never be doing when driving an auto transmission car, like:
1. Don't coast your car down a slope in Neutral mode
For one, it takes some control away from you, since you cannot accelerate the car in Neutral and can only slow it down using brakes. Modern automatics are intelligent enough to cut the supply of fuel while you drive downhill, thereby preventing the need for coasting and providing more fuel efficiency much like their manual counterparts.
2. Don't shift gears when your car is moving
Make sure you come to a complete stop before going from Drive to Reverse or vice versa. Why? For one, it wears out your transmission, because you’re using THAT to stop the car instead of your brakes. The car will actually stop but you will end up wearing out your automatic transmission band.
The transmission band is hard to access making its repair and replacement expensive and time-consuming as opposed to brakes which are easy to access and service.
3. Don't put your car in Neutral mode at the red light
Many think that keeping the transmission in Drive while stepping on the brake wastes fuel and causes unnecessary wear on the driveline. In fact, actual engine wear and fuel loss are minimal!
Acoording to Lifehacker, It’s the simple act of disengaging and re-engaging by switching into and out of Neutral adds wear to the various parts involved.
4. Don't 'launch' your car in a bid to start your car faster
This is whereby a driver revs the car while in Neutral and shifts to Drive to enable one to zoom off at a high speed. However, by doing this you are wearing out the automatic transmission band which is expensive to repair. Plus, it’s also very, very dangerous.
5. Don't shift your car into Park mode until it's fully parked
When you engage Park, what happens is that a locking pin is inserted into a gear that is connected to your transmission output shaft. The wheels of your car are connected to your transmission output shaft such that when the shaft is locked your wheels cannot move.
If you happen to engage Park when the car is still moving, you can easily shear the locking pin and even break it which would call for costly repairs.
6. Don't delay changing the transmission fluid
In an automatic transmission, there is higher heat produced. That means there’s going to be more carbon produced, which will contaminate the transmission fluid. Over time, these contaminants will cause the fluid to thicken and no longer do its job effectively.
Always follow the manufacturer's specifications and don't miss the next change cycle!
7. In the event your car gets towed, take extra caution on how it's done
Your powered wheels must never be on the road when towing. For instance, on a front wheel drive car, you will lift the front wheels and leave the back wheels on the road. By towing your powered wheels, you could spoil the suspension and cause persistent problems for your car.
8. Don't delay bringing your car to the mechanic if there's a persistant problem
If there is damage, it must be admitted that the automatic transmission treatment is more difficult than a manual transmission. So, better check directly to the specific transmission repair shop that handles automatic transmission car manufacturers or any authorised repair shop.
Check out the video below for more:
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