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most just drive the car till SOMETHING BREAKS! THAT is the way to KILL a car.
Instead, Practicing 'preventative maintenance' (the same way as is REQUIRED on aircraft) will get you 200k or 300k easily on a vehicle 1997 year model or newer.
Most know about oil/filter/tires; hopefully belts/hoses/timing-belt too.
But some 'failed parts' have disastrous consequences:
But what about water-pump; they don't 'last forever', the seal wears; driving till it FAILS usually results in blown head gaskets/cracked heads; replace every 80k and this result is avoided. REplace radiator at 200k.
Timing belt as suggested by mfgr to avoid smashed valves . . .
Tranny oil - at least every 100k with full-synthetic (sooner if 'extreme duty'....)
IF the water pump fails you only blow the head gasket if you keep driving. If you pull over, for most cars it is a fairly minor replacement.
I've seen first hand how parts suppliers test the parts that they make for the automakers the parts are put through test that put more wear and tear on components than the average driver will ever put on their cars. They spray salt water on cables 24/7 for over 6 months to see the effects of saltwater on their cables and brake lines, I've seen cars on a dyno machine to check transmission for months to see how they hold up. Do you think automakers make parts Willy nilly. They test and re test and take new cars on test tracks and other roads to see how they operate and then tear down the engine and drive train to check for wear. To say automakers should never say replace transmission fluid till 100,000 miles is wrong is like saying that you know better than a enginer with a degree in automotive engineering. It's their cars they made them and you think you know their products better than them.
This is a good point. Rarely do amateurs have a deeper level of technical understanding, the do the professionals.
However, there are some caveats. Manufacturers today may be sedulously thorough in testing this or that set of components. But what about 20 years ago? 30 years ago? The cars that are failing with 150K miles or whatever aren’t last year’s models. They might be 1990’s models. Second, making a device idiot-proof can underestimate the creative idiot. Spraying cables with salt-water is a good idea in testing, but what if a vehicle gets high-centered on a concrete ramp in entering a parking-lot, scraping off undercoating, denting the subframe connectors and fraying insulation on cables? The point isn’t to fault manufacturers for slipshod testing practices, but to realize that lab-tests can’t possibly anticipate the harsh vicissitudes of real life.
Yes. If Americans weren't fat lazy tools, and learned how to drive a manual like the rest of the world, they're would be more MT options.
Manuals are on their way out, and it's not all by driver's choice. By giving control over the transmission (and throttle!) the car is better able to eek out better mpg.
Just the way it is. I don't like it either, but then again, I test drove a bunch of cars a year or two ago, in stickshift, and they were awful. Drive by wire does what it can to kill throttle response. And let's not talk about craptastic clutch and shifter feel. I drove a 2011-ish Corolla and couldn't tell which I liked better, the 5MT or 4AT. I'd rather have an unobtrusive 4AT than a rubbery 5MT (Versa, Mirage) (although the Mirage wasn't awful it was awfully underpowered).
I think the weakest part of todays cars is the rubberized timing belt. It can break at anytime well before the factory replacement mileage. [I know this from personal experience]
I think the weakest part of todays cars is the rubberized timing belt. It can break at anytime well before the factory replacement mileage. [I know this from personal experience]
I see this stated all the time in the automotive forum but most, if not all of the mainstream cars use timing chains today and have for the the last few years. It makes for another maintenance free item on the car and lowers cost of ownership.
Can someone think of a mainstream car model in the last 4 years that still uses a timing belt? Correct me if I'm wrong.
I see this stated all the time in the automotive forum but most, if not all of the mainstream cars use timing chains today and have for the the last few years. It makes for another maintenance free item on the car and lowers cost of ownership.
Can someone think of a mainstream car model in the last 4 years that still uses a timing belt? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Timing chains are only as good as the components operating them (tensioners, guides, and most importantly, oil). The failures usually aren't the chains themselves but the components. Timing belts aren't necessarily a weak point. Toyota used timing belts on most of their non-interference motors for years and many of those motors were capable of going well beyond 300K. A belt failure on those engines would typically leave you stranded and out of a few hundred bucks, but the motor wouldn't be destroyed by it.
Manuals are on their way out, and it's not all by driver's choice. By giving control over the transmission (and throttle!) the car is better able to eek out better mpg.
Just the way it is. ...
While this is eminently true, the fact remains, that automatic transmissions are overwhelmingly dominant in the US car-market, but comparatively unusual in most other markets (Europe, Latin America, Australia, etc.). It's possible that the US is an "early adopter", so that other markets will eventually follow. But for the moment, there is stark disparity in transmission-choices. I can't help thinking that this is at least partially cultural, as opposed to driven by economics or compliance with regulations.
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