How to Make Your Car Last Forever: Avoid Expensive Repairs, Improve Fuel Economy, Understand Your Warranty, Save Money

DRIVERS ASK, TOM ANSWERS: SERVICE PROBLEMS SOLVED Dear Tom, Q I have a ‘92 Dodge Spirit (four-cylinder) that ...

noise (knocking sound) and my husband thinks the engine is bad. What do you think? Tamesha—Pennsauken, New Jersey ...

Q I have an older car that needs some repair work. The shop I am going to won’t put anything oth ...

Chapter 17 How to Kill a Car What does it take to kill a car? Many of you can come up with ...

NEGLECTING SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE More cars find their way to the junkyard by neglecting basic scheduled ma ...

OVERLOADING TOWING AND HAULING CAPACITY Have you ever followed a car towing a small boat trailer that’s loa ...

Overheating Vehicles designed for heavy towing that have a towing package from the factory come with ...

break or wear out prematurely. U-bolts and shackles that hold leaf-spring-packs together break, coil sp ...

THE NEUTRAL DROP A Neutral Drop is when you rev the engine high in neutral and, at the peak of revving, ...

Neutral dropping a vehicle is not a good thing to do. I have been inside transmissions that have ...

INSTALLING A PLOW ON A VEHICLE THAT CAN’T HANDLE ONE This kind of vehicle abuse often occurs in parts ...

ROCKING THE VEHICLE OUT OF SNOW OR MUD Ever get stuck in snow or mud? Rather than calling a tow truck, w ...

DRIVING WITH THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE ON HOT OR THE LIGHT ILLUMINATED You’re driving on a country road out in the mi ...

Just a small suggestion here: Don’t ignore a hot temperature gauge. It will cost you a lot of money. ...

DRIVING WITH LOW OR NO OIL IN THE ENGINE While driving at highway speed the oil light comes on. You either don’t ...

This is another practice that will result in major engine damage. Here’s what happens when you run the ...

How can this scenario be avoided? Stop at the first sign of low oil, whether it’s the low oil pressure ...

IGNORING AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WARNING SIGNS The warning signs that something is wrong with your automatic ...

OVERSHOOTING A TURN AND HITTING A CURB IN THE SNOW When you drive too fast on snow-covered roads, your ...

ADDITIONAL DRIVING TECHNIQUES TO AVOID TO MAKE YOUR CAR LAST FOREVER Feathering the Clutch Have you ever seen ...