Your car is an essential tool that enables you to provide for yourself and your family. It needs to be reliable. To keep your car reliable, you need to learn how to recognize small car troubles that can turn into really big problems quickly.
A Cracked Windscreen
While small windscreen fractures aren’t large enough to interfere with your ability to drive, they can be made worse due to you continuing to drive without repairing them. Small fractures compromise the integrity of your windscreen and will eventually spider web out into larger fractures due to the stress of wind pressing against your car while you drive. It’s wise to repair any auto glass fractures as soon as they happen. You can purchase windscreen repair kits at your local auto supply store to fix your windscreen yourself. Alternatively, you can take your car into a professional auto repair shop to have the glass professionally repaired at a higher price.
Low Tires
Although the rubber used to create your car tires is thick and durable, it’s not impervious. If you head out to your car only to notice that one of the tires is a little lower in pressure than the others, don’t ignore this small issue that can be a warning sign of larger problems to come. A low tire can mean that the tire is damaged somewhere. This damage is creating an air leak. If you neglect to repair this damage to your tire, it will only grow larger and larger until it causes your tire to go flat entirely. Once the damage gets to this level of severity, there are few things that can repair it, and a tire change will be required. When you begin to notice your tires losing air, spend time looking for the leak so you can repair it. A tire repair is much cheaper than a tire replacement. However, if you’ve done a lot of tire repairs, consider saving up so you can replace the tires entirely before too long. Patches are fine, but you don’t want to risk driving on tires that have been compromised for very long if you can help it.
Your Car Is Stalling
If your car randomly stalls while you’re driving, this may just be the beginning of larger problems. There are multiple underlying issues that can cause your car to stall, so it’s best to take it to a mechanic for a diagnostic examination. Fuel system issues, electrical issues, or engine issues can be the possible reasons that your car is stalling. You may also find that your car is stalling simply due to the weather. In colder climates, some cars need an external engine warmer to be able to start. If you can, try starting the car under the best conditions you can get it in. Top up the gas tank, push it into the garage, and check the battery and fluid levels. If it won’t start under these good conditions, you’re going to need some help. Additionally, even if your car just takes a while to start up, get it checked out. An engine should turn over relatively quickly and any delay could easily be a sign of a much bigger problem.
One common car trouble that’s small and usually ignored is the ‘check engine’ light glowing. Don’t ignore this warning. Get your engine checked by a mechanic as a precaution to prevent your car from breaking down in the future.
