Five Surprising Ways You May Be Hurting Your Car

Parking Break

This Five Surprising Ways You May Be Hurting Your Car article (edited) was produced by the good folks at Geico:

You’re driving down the highway when you notice the gas needle creeping toward empty. Do you pull off at the next rest stop, or do you push your luck and see how far you can go?

If you’re a fan of “gas-gauge chicken,” consider this: It may actually be damaging your car.

True, modern cars are more dependable than their predecessors, but some common behaviors can put unnecessary wear and tear on a vehicle. “A car is an investment,” says Richard Reina, product training director at CARiD.com. So not only should you perform regular maintenance, he says, but you should also avoid the following.

Forgetting the Parking Brake

“With automatic transmission cars,” says Reina, “people presume that they don’t need the parking brake.” But that isn’t so. Putting the car in park engages the parking pawl, a small metal pin that disengages the transmission’s output. This can put (literally) tons of weight on that little metal pin, especially on an incline—an unintended distribution of pressure that can cause premature wear on the pawl. The job of the parking brake is to immobilize the wheels, easing the burden while also providing a measure of protection for the pawl.

Letting Your Tires Get Low

Each new vehicle today must, by law, have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), which alerts the driver when one of the tires gets low. Some drivers assume they don’t have to check their tires unless the TPMS light goes on. But this is a mistake, says Reina. Before the threshold for the TPMS is even reached, driving with an underinflated tire can affect your vehicle’s performance. “Even being a few pounds off,” says Reina, “can affect your fuel economy, as well as how the car handles and brakes.”

Keeping the Tank Near Empty

Reina says he used to run his fuel tank down near empty before he learned how much it was damaging his fuel pump, an electric tool designed to remain immersed in the car’s fuel. When gas runs very low, the fuel pump can be exposed and begin to overheat. It cools again when the tank is full, but over time, that cycle of cooling and heating can cause damage. “I try to refill my tank when I get to one quarter or one eighth of a tank, to extend the fuel pump’s life,” he says.

Ignoring Your Windshield Wipers

Failing to change your wiper blades can result in diminished performance and even in scratched windshields, which in inclement weather can pose serious safety risks due to distorted visibility. “I recommend changing your wiper blades once a year,” says Reina. “Just before winter, when you want the blades to really clean the windshield well.” Consider changing them sooner if your car usually sits outside, or if you live in a warm climate.

Shifting Abruptly from Reverse to Drive

Have you ever noticed the way your car lurches when you shift from reverse to drive without coming to a complete stop? This abrupt change in direction puts unnecessary strain on your transmission and driveline components, and it can cause that uncomfortable shudder. If you’re not in the habit of coming to a complete stop before changing gears, give it a try—your transmission will thank you.

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Avoiding Fender Bender Fraud

Car Accident

 This Avoiding Fender Bender Fraud article was produced by the good folks at Geico:

The shock of getting into a traffic accident, even a minor one, can leave a driver feeling dazed and confused, but it pays to keep your wits about you at all times. Steven Rutzebeck, director of GEICO’s Special Investigations Unit, explains how to foil potential fraudsters in the moments immediately after a car crash. Having dealt with insurance fraud throughout his career, Rutzebeck knows exactly what to look for.

GEICO More (GM): As you know, traffic accidents do happen and sometimes it’s tempting to give the other driver the benefit of the doubt. But is it ever smart to wash your hands of it and just walk away from a car crash, even a minor fender bender?

Steven Rutzebeck (SR): Not a good idea. At the scene of an accident, you need to get a clear picture of what actually happened. Use your cellphone to take photos of the damaged vehicles, license plates, the people involved, even their driver’s license, if possible. A police officer also serves as an impartial observer of the condition of the vehicles and their occupants, so you have nothing to worry about if a problem presents itself later (if the other party changes their story, for example, and all of a sudden it becomes your fault).

GM: In movies and on TV, we often see depictions of a fraudulent claimant hobbling into court on crutches or in a wheelchair, wearing bandages and a neck brace. But does that stuff really happen?

SR: You’d be surprised by what some people try to get away with. But if there’s very minor damage to the vehicle and all the occupants appear to be injured, and to an extent that doesn’t correlate to the amount of trauma created by the impact, you can be sure the injuries either do not exist or are being enhanced.
 
GM: Why do they go to such ridiculous lengths?

SR: These farces are often financially motivated. If someone’s bent on staging an accident and wants to incorporate an innocent party, they usually look for high-end vehicles; they also target elderly drivers. But with a typical fender bender, some people see an opportunity to make money out of it.

GM: In a courtroom, the judge considers many factors to determine who’s telling the truth. With insurance fraud, how can you tell when someone’s fibbing?

SR: As we like to say, “The truth never changes.” If you’re being truthful, minor aspects of the story might change slightly over time, but the basic concept will always stay the same because it’s true and you remember it. When people are telling falsehoods, it’s hard for them to keep all the particulars in line and remember what they’ve said.

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