What driving habits can lead to premature wear and tear

Keeping your vehicle in top condition isn’t always about bringing it on time for its preventative maintenance service. There are other things you can do to prolong its lifespan as well as keep to help keep its other components in check and functional for a much longer time. With that in mind, here is a quick list of driving habits you should avoid so that you can minimize premature wear and tear from happening to your vehicle. 

While this primarily applies to manual transmissions vehicles, resting your hand on the gear stick can potentially be a dangerous way to drive. If you do this a lot you may be applying pressure on the selector fork or other internal parts of the gearbox without realizing it. Over time, this habit could cause these components to wear out much faster than they normally would. This can lead to noisy gears or the inability to select a gear properly and smoothly.

If you keep your foot on the brakes for too long it can result in your car’s brakes getting too hot. This in turn damages it and accelerates the wear and tear of the pads and even the brake disc. If you want your car to slow down and be more manageable at speed then you can utilize the engine brake instead. Only use the brakes when necessary like when you are coming to a complete stop. 

Another bad habit that can lead to premature wear and tear for manual transmission drivers is riding the clutch. Keeping the clutch partially depressed is a bad habit as it reduces the amount of control you have of your vehicle and it also speeds up the natural wear and tear of your clutch. If you keep to this habit you will find yourself paying for new clutches more often or worse having transmission problems.

When an engine has been at rest for a long time most of the oil will settle at its lowest point. This means that if you start your vehicle and immediately rev it wildly, there is a chance that there won’t be enough oil to keep the parts properly lubricated. While newer motors will not need to be warmed up it is still best to keep the engine revolutions low while driving in the morning. This gives time for the oil to properly circulate and to properly protect the moving parts.

If you have a pickup truck or a commercial vehicle you shouldn’t overload your vehicle. This puts it under unnecessary strain as well as puts the suspension and brakes under unneeded wear and tear. It also increases your fuel consumption as your car will need to rev higher to move with its increased load.

While an automatic transmission will downshift to a lower gear when you want to get the vehicle to move faster, in a manual gearbox vehicle it is best not to hit the accelerator while in high gear. The reasoning behind this is because accelerating at low revs, or in too high a gear will make the engine work harder. It also means that you are putting the motor under unnecessary strain. With that in mind, it is best to change down a gear and allow the revs to rise gradually before changing back up. 

If you find yourself constantly in the truck lane doing fast speeds it is best to change to a different lane or to slow down to prevent any unwanted damage from happening to your suspension. When you hit a pothole at speed, the impact can damage your vehicle’s wheels and can even cause lumps in the tires from occurring. It can also upset the wheel balance of your vehicle thus ruining your alignment. With that said, you can either take it slow or change to a different lane to avoid hitting a pothole or a speed bump. Remember it’s better to slow down instead of risking an expensive repair.