How you drive your car can have a huge effect on that car’s lifespan. Here are some of the worst driving habits for your car:
1. Constantly driving with low fuel
If you always wait until your low fuel light has come on to get gas, you’re probably forcing your engine to run on sediment-rich gasoline, that will clog your filter and make your entire system less efficient.
2. Quickly accelerating and hard braking
Suddenly accelerating or braking can both put undue wear and tear on your pads and rotors.
3. Revving your engine
There is probably very little reason for you to rev your engine. Most people blip their throttle at a stoplight to get attention from the cars around them, and while there is something to be said for sound a high performance engine can make, this wears down your engine’s components.
4. Riding your brakes
If you cruise with your foot positioned over your brake pedal, you might be putting enough pressure on that pedal for your pads to touch your rotors. You’ll wear out your pads and rotors at an alarming rate.
5. Accelerating very slowly
Accelerating really slowly can be just as bad as accelerating quickly. The longer it takes for you to get to your optimal driving speed (the speed at which your car burns fuel the most efficiently), the more gas you are wasting.
6. Carrying extra junk
We’ve all put something in our trunk for storage or simply to haul from place to place and forgot it was there. A lot of extra weight in your vehicle can actually cause your car to work harder and burn more fuel. It’s a simple problem to solve—just clean out your trunk and back seat!
