Five Things Everyone Should Know About Cars

Not everyone is a car guy – but everyone who has a car ought to know a few basic things about cars. A little knowledge save you a lot of trouble.

Front brake pads wear faster than rear brake pads –

This may seem counterintuitive; don’t all four brakes work to stop the car? Yes. But the front brakes do most (about 70 percent) of the stopping, chiefly on account of the fact that when you apply the brakes, the weight of the vehicle shifts forward; that’s why front brake pads wear out sooner than rear brake pads (or shoes, if your car has drum rear brakes).

And that’s why you ought to remember to check – or have someone else check – your front brakes first.  How often? Brake pad life varies from vehicle to vehicle and driver to driver, because there are many variables, including your braking habits – but as a general rule, a set of new pads should last about 30,000 miles. They might last a lot longer – but checking their condition at around that mileage mark is a good idea, to avoid them wearing down to the point that the pads are worn out and begin to dig into the rotors – which are the discs that the pads clamp onto, creating the frictiont hat is what slows and stops your car.

That way you’ll probably avoid having to replace more than just the pads. If you don’t check – of you forget – the brakes will remind you, with unpleasant noises. If you hear them, you’ll probably be paying for new rotors on top of the pads.

Short sidewall “sport” tires can be flat and not look flat –

Many modern vehicles have what are called “sport” (or “summer”) tires. These are tires with short, stiff sidewalls, which don’t flex as much as taller sidewalls and that sharpens up steering response and improves handling feel.

One of the downsides of these kinds of tires – in addition to their greater vulnerability to blowouts – is that it’s hard to tell by looking at them whether they’re low on air or even flat. A compounding problem is that while all new and late-model vehicles have tire pressure monitors, these sometimes tell you a tire is low on air when it isn’t, due to a a bad tire pressure sensor or some other issue. This causes people to ignore the “low tire pressure” light that comes on, especially if the tire looks ok. Manually verifying the actual pressure at least once a month with a tire pressure gauge is important for that reason. It’s easy to do and everyone ought to know how to do it. It’s also a good idea to keep a can of Fix-a-Flat inflator in the car for just-in-case flats; finding an air pump is not as easy as it used to be because gas stations are no longer service stations and many just have snacks, not air.

There is no such thing as “lifetime” transmission fluid or engine coolant –

One of the greatest – and greasiest – marketing cons of the past 25 years is this “lifetime” fluids business.

It’s dishonest for the same reason that ads that promise you’ll save “as much as 80 percent” on whatever-it-is are dishonest because probably you’ll be saving a lot less than 80 percent, if you save anything at all. “Lifetime” – in the automotive fluids context – does not mean forever or even the life of the vehicle. It means as long as the warranty coverage lasts. That can be a pretty short lifetime. The greasy part is that they’re trying to sell you on low maintenance costs without telling you about the much higher repair/replacement costs. A new CVT automatic transmission, for example, can easily cost $5,000. Replacing the “lifetime” fluid every 30,000 miles might cost you $150. Same thing applies to engine coolant. It’s a lot less expensive to replace that “lifetime” coolant once every 4-5 years than it is to replace a radiator and water pump after seven years.

There’s probably a manual override (to unlock a stuck gear selector) underneath the trim plate of your automatic transmission’s gear selector –

Almost everything in new and recent-vintage vehicles is electronically controlled and that includes the gear selector, usually mounted on the center console. Sometimes, it won’t let you move from Park to Drive. You might be able to fix this yourself – and avoid having to call roadside service. If you can’t get the gear selector to move out of Park, pry up the plastic trim plate around the gear selector; these usually press/snap-fit into place and can be removed by pulling up on them (easy does it). Sometimes, there’s a little tab on top of the trim plate. Use a flat-blade screwdriver os similar to gain access. Once you do, you will hopefully see a little yellow or something like that button.

Push that and the gear selector will (hopefully) unlock.

If the vehicle’s manufacturer recommends premium, it’s not required –

Lost of new and late-model vehicles have turbocharged engines and some of these come with “premium fuel recommended” stickers.

This doesn’t mean you have to use premium fuel, however. More precisely, it doesn’t mean you’re going to cause harm to your vehicle’s engine if you fill (or top off) the tank with regular. It just means the engine won’t make the peak advertised power. But you will avoid having to spend the 40-50 cents more per gallon that premium unleaded fuel costs.

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