Car Maintenance

4 Common Car Problems & How to Fix Them

Driving is a little complicated at the best of times, and if you aren’t sure about some of the most common car problems that you’re likely to face at some point or another, things can get even worse. It’s never ideal to get caught out, and whether you bought the car in that shape or it happened over time, it’s usually you that ends up in trouble for it. Even worse, it can actually cost you up to a huge £2500! Your insurance will skyrocket too! (Like cars don’t cost enough!)

Rather than just taking a gamble every time you drive your precious vehicle though, taking the time to learn about what the most common car problems are is one of the best ways to actually make sure they don’t happen to you in the first place.

Knowledge is power after all, and the best offence is a great defence.

Let’s break them down

Tyre Tread

One of the most often forgotten common car issues that are visible to see comes from what you’re actually driving on. That’s the tyre tread. It sounds trivial, but believe it or not, your tyres do way more to keep you safe than you might realise.

To make sure that everything is up to scratch, most of the problems come from the tread of your tyres. You need to make sure that according to the government guidelines, you have:

  • cars, light vans and light trailers – 1.6 millimetres (mm)
  • motorcycles, large vehicles and passenger-carrying vehicles – 1mm

https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-safe

This is straight from the horse’s mouth. If you don’t know, it’s always worth checking. It’s just not worth getting caught out, especially if you do a lot of miles! (Although mileage isn’t always everything).

Lights

Other massively common car problems come from your lighting situation. We don’t mean driving around with your lights on or off etc. (even though that’s an easy issue to get caught for). Here, we’re looking at having lights that don’t work at all.

It can be your front, rear, brake lights, or even your indicators that can get you in trouble for this one, so there’s a little more to take on board. Worse still, this is one of the easiest for you to get caught with since it’s so visible to see even without the car at a standstill.

On the plus side, because of that point, it’s easy for you to check and spot the issue too. On top of that, if you are to get in trouble for that, you’ll likely be told to get it sorted out with no further action taken.

Tints

Tinted windows aren’t as popular as they used to be, but they’re still more than prevalent. If you buy a used car especially from a few years back, it’s actually pretty common. That’s just one of the biggest reasons for you to learn about what and it’s okay for you to do with them. You don’t need a hassle that you can avoid.

The problem that comes with tinted windows however is that the guidelines aren’t so easy to follow. What we mean is, the rule (according to DVLA) is that the windows in your front windscreen and passenger side windows must let at least 70% light through them. That’s measure with a special tool, and if yours doesn’t you’re looking at more trouble, with the possibility of your car not being allowed anthem road until you fix it.

Windscreen Cracks

Last but not least, staying with your windows here, is cracks, chips and breaks. These are an obvious problem or at the very least an inconvenience, so it’s in everyone’s best interests that you get rid. Quickly too. If you get an MOT, they’ll be the first to tell you that part.

The best thing to do is to get anything looked at as soon as you possibly can. If the chip is directly in front of the driver especially, things are a lot more difficult to see and that makes things a lot more problematic. As far as common car problems go, if you get caught, this is one where there won’t be much negotiation. The highway code is clear.

Overall, just make sure you’re keeping your car in the best shape you can. Check everything out regularly, get MOTd and serviced when you should do, and don’t forget about how usefully used car checks can be too. Safe driving! How to deal with car problems.

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