9 Ways You’re Destroying Your Car

Driving a car is a privilege granted to many. However, when you’re behind the wheel of your Renault, you’re probably not thinking about how great this privilege is. You’re thinking about whether you’ll be late to work again, and how upset your boss is going to be. You’re thinking about picking up dinner, making it to your child’s school play or deciding whether or not the coming holidays should be spent with your family or your partner’s.

With so much on your mind, it can be hard to make room for important car-related issues, like caring for Renault parts and listening for those tell-tale noises and odours that could indicate something is wrong. Even simple problems that, if resolved quickly, could extend the life of your car and protect you and others on the road are pushed to the back of your mind. When operating your vehicle, it’s essential to remember that you’re driving a deadly weapon, and there are vital things to keep in mind to avoid destroying your vehicle and harming others.

How You’re Destroying Your Renault

• Failing to Use the Hand Brake- Many drivers think of the hand brake as an optional piece of equipment. After all, when the vehicle is in park, it shouldn’t move, right? That’s the point of putting it in park. The hand brake is important, however, as it locks up the car’s wheels and prevents it from rolling downhill. At the same time, it prevent the parking pawl from stripping in the gearbox. When you don’t engage the hand brake, the gearbox is left with all of the responsibility of “holding” the car in place. This can easily lead to parking pawl failure and could damage your car. Just be sure to remember to release this brake before you begin driving again or you could damage other Renault parts.

• Failing to Stop Fully- If you’re operating a Renault with a manual gearbox, stopping completely before you shift into reverse is essential. When you don’t, you strip bands and gears in the gearbox. Over time, you won’t be able to shift at all because these car parts will be so worn that there will be no tension in the bands and no teeth on the gears. Avoid this by coming to a complete stop each time you want to shift into reverse.

• Not Changing the Oil- You know how important oil is to your engine. It can’t function without it, and the results of an attempt to drive on low oil is often cracking of your engine block. This can result in an extremely expensive repair. How is this caused? Inside your engine are metal pistons located inside a metal cylinder. Each of these pistons have metal rings that are responsible for sliding up and down inside that cylinder. When oil levels become too low, metal rubs against metal. 

• Washing Your Engine- At some point, you were told that keeping a clean engine was important, and what better way to scrub all that grime and grease away than with a power washer? While it might seem like an easy, convenient option for cleaning your engine, power washers deliver high amounts of pressure to everything they come in contact with. This includes the electronics hidden within modules in your engine. These can become easily damaged and can cost quite a bit of money to repair.

• Ignoring Sounds- On a normal day, your Renault is going to drive smoothly with just the slightest hint of a purr from the engine. When something goes wrong, however, its car parts are going to start complaining- loudly. Listen for these sounds. Squeaking brakes may seem like something you can ignore for a while, but ignore them too long and you’ll damage your rotors. This will result in you having to replace both Renault parts. Worse yet, if you ignore them too long, you may not be able to stop in time on the motorway, which could result in an accident that could injure you and others. 

• Letting Your Fuel Tank Run Low- It’s been a tough month, financially speaking, so your trips to the petrol station have been few and far between. You’ve been watching the fuel gauge carefully, and only making a visit to fill up when you absolutely have to. This seems like a great way to save money, right? Wrong. When you have petrol in your fuel tank, it actually does more than get you from point A to point B. It helps to cool down your fuel pump. An overheating fuel pump caused by your constant use of the “Buffer Zone” can lead to disaster. Try to keep the tank at least ¼ full at all times.

• Ignoring Leaks- You know that your fluids should always remain inside the vehicle, and when you see them on the ground when you pull away, you’ve got a problem. Like most people, however, you probably think you’ve got a little bit of time before it actually becomes a big problem. You may not. Your Renault parts could be in danger of failing. Understand what the various fluid colours refer to in order to address this problem quickly. Red refers to transmission fluid, while orange or green indicates a coolant leak. Clear fluids are most often power steering or brake fluids, while black is used oil.

• Ignoring Your Check Engine Light- Ah, the check engine light. The bane of every car owner. It’s a light that can mean anything is wrong with your car, and it generally requires a trip to the mechanic to determine exactly what the problem is. While it may be annoying, ignoring this light can have serious consequences. Sure, it may just be a simple sensor fix, but it could be your catalytic converter going out. Do you want to take that chance?

• Not Getting Professional Help- This is the age of YouTube videos and instant information. So why would you pay for a professional to replace your Renault parts when you can look it up online and do it yourself? The problem with DIY projects found online is that not everything you read, or even see, is correct. Professionals are trained and know how to address every problem. They have the tools to get it done correctly and fast. If you’re in over your head, don’t experiment with the car you depend on to get you to work every morning. Trust a professional.

Are you making any of these mistakes with your Renault? Stop destroying your car now by following this advice.