Sulu

Some of these seem old-fashioned to me and may no longer be true with new computer controls.

Source

geko29

7 and 8 are wrong. Not that riding the clutch isn't bad (it is), but the author incorrectly defines it. Holding the clutch fully disengaged does not cause any wear. That's what disengaged means. Riding the clutch refers to driving with the clutch partially disengaged, which means the surfaces never "lock" together and spin as a single unit. This causes enormous wear on the clutch plate and can actually burn the pressure plate. This is very bad. But holding the pedal down at a stop light is how you're supposed to drive a manual.

As for 8, we've discussed that in a recent thread. At the speeds we're talking about in a parking situation, there's far less stress on the drivetrain components when changing direction than even a moderately quick start from a stop. Rolling 20 in reverse, pop into drive and hammer the gas? Yeah, that's bad. Transitioning from 1mph in reverse to the same speed forward, without coming to a complete stop first? no big deal.

mmarshall

Good list.

I'll add another one....using windshield wipers unnecessarily. I see this all the time.....drivers using either constant-action or intermittent-action wipers set at too fast a cycle for the amount of water on the windshield. This causes a lot of wear on the glass and wiper blades from abrasion, and can cause fine arc-shaped scratches in the glass (some of those arc-scratches happen anyway per time,...it is very hard to prevent them). Typically, what happens is that when the rain eases or lets up, the driver, concerned with other things, simply forgets to adjust the wiper-cycle down or turn them off. Even if the rain doesn't let up and keeps falls at the same rate, as your speed drops (or you come to a stop), the wipers don't have to wipe as much to keep the glass dry, because the rain builds up on the glass less.

Some vehicles have speed-sensing wipers that automatically speed them up and slow them down as the car's road speed changes or stops....a nice feature when the rate of rainfall isn't changing. Others have what are called "rain-sensing wipers" that go on and off automatically when water or raindrops are detected on the windshield. I don't like that feature, for two reasons. First, the sensors can be fooled and triggered by things that aren't water or raindrops, and the wiper-blades will grind unnecessarily on dry or dirty glass. Second, even if there are true raindrops on the windshield for the sensors, there could also be other things on the glass, too, that would be harmful for the wipers to grind against, such as some tree/bird-droppings, insect-droppings, small twigs, etc... That's why it's important to make sure the glass is also relatively clean before using the wipers...so they don't grind things into the glass that they aren't supposed to.

I also don't care for the way some vehicles automatically turn on the wipers on immediately when you hit the windshield-washers....I prefer the two functions separately. That's because if the wipers start swiping before the spray-jet of cleaning solution wets the glass enough to prevent abrasion, the glass and blades will get a lot of wear for several seconds. I prefer a system where you can separately spray the solution on the glass first, get it wet, and THEN turn on the wipers to clear it all off. I just wonder if the engineers thought about that when they came up with the simultaneous washer/wiper action.

Last, of course, if you are driving a vehicle with a rear-wiper, such as a wagon/SUV, don't forget to also turn that off, too, when you are done with the fronts. That's something else that I see quite often.....Outbacks, SUVs, and similar vehicles with the front wipers stopped and the rear ones still churning away. In general, when the car is moving forward, rain won't collect on the rear window as quickly as on the windshield, because the rain is generally being blown away from the window by the airstream, rather than towards it. But the rear window can actually get dirtier than the front more quickly, because road grime and dirt mixed with the water ends up on it.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

1. Guilty
2. Always use it
3. Good about keeping few items in the car
4. Guilty, I'll run it to 0 sometimes
5. Moderate acceleration and firm stops. 300hp and F-Sport 6/4 pistons can't help it
6. I let it warm up
7. N/A
8. I never do unless by accident, even then seldom
9. I engine brake
10. Very in tune with noises and sounds with my car

Stroock639

i was once naive about not using the parking brake until my friend told me about the error in my ways. now my procedure goes: shift into neutral, set parking brake, let it rest on the parking brake, then shift into park.

i think i'm probably the best at letting it warm up before putting it under any sort of serious load lol... i'm very grateful for my dad's E63 because it has an oil temperature sensor in addition to a coolant temp sensor, and before this i had no idea how much longer the oil takes to warm up than the coolant. i'm happy to know this because now i always give it at least an additional 10 min after the coolant is at operating temperature before really putting my foot down at all. and according to the blackstone laboratories report my LS has less metal in the oil than comparable 1UZ engines so i guess i'm doing a good job at it and the car still makes GREAT power and really jumps off the line like few other cars do, including the E63.

Toys4RJill

I don't think there is much truth to this whatsoever. Vehicle manufacturers will not allow a safety situation like this to happen. This is just an armchair critic.

mmarshall

Sorry, Jill, but there IS a lot of truth to that. Engineers came up with the PARK system for automatic transmissions as basically an emergency device in case the parking brake fails. Vehicles, particularly on hills, are meant to be secured with the parking brake, which is designed to hold the entire weight of the car when gravity is pulling down on it. The PARK system is essentially a metal prowl that, when activated, is inserted into the transmission's mechanicals (often through holes in specific sets of gears) to essentially lock the transmission and keep the gears from from turning. If, when parking, the parking brake is not properly used (with a manual pull-up lever or step-on pedal, it should be adjusted, as needed, to around two or three clicks to properly engage), and the transmission is placed in PARK, it probably will not matter much on a level or relatively level surface, unless something hits the car and actually pushes it forward or back. But, on a hill or other grade, gravity will obviously try to pull the vehicle down......and, without assistance from the parking brake holding the vehicle back, that will place a big strain on the metal prowl in the transmission. For obvious reasons, those parking-prowls are made out of very strong materials (such as case-hardened steel). But, if the weight of the vehicle, without the parking brake, strains them long enough from metal fatigue, even they can beak....or if they themselves don't, can cause the gears they are run through to break or fail. In manual-transmission cars, of course, leaving the car in gear when parked has the same general effect....but not as rigidly as with a parking prowl. Also, if you remember from driving school, an old rule, before all auto-transmission vehicles had the PARK feature, was to leave the wheels turned towards the curb when parked on a hill so the car wouldn't roll away if everything failed.

In general, my rule of thumb (and it has worked well for me through the years) is, when parking on a hill, apply the parking brake FIRST, make sure it is secure (which will keep the weight off the parking prowl), THEN place the transmission in PARK. Been doing that for almost 50 years.....and I've never had a car roll away on me.

SW17LS

You are totally wrong. Read the manual, almost every manual will tell you that you must use the parking brake every time you park. And in cars with automatic parking brakes, why do they automatically set?

Several years ago we had a CL/LOC member have his ES350 bumped into when in park and he watched it roll out of the parking lot and into traffic because it broke off the parking pawl. When I had the Jeep and posted on the Jeep forum this happened there once also.

9.9/10 you'll be fine just in park, but in situations where your car gets bumped or hit, especially on an incline it may not hold so why take the chance?

Plus, most places it's the law.

Sulu

The reason for NOT relying on the parking PAWL (note the spelling -- it is not PRAWL or PROWL) is explained right there, in that note:

I found an image of a typical parking pawl: When you place the transmission into PARK, the transmission forces this lever in between 2 gear teeth, preventing the gear from turning. But by looking at that image, you could easily imagine the business end of the pawl (which essentially is just one gear tooth) wearing out and no longer working.



When the pawl wears out and you want to replace it, consider this:Would you rather pay to service your brakes or pay to service (mechanical service, not fluid change) your transmission? Transmission repairs are more expensive than brake servicing.

mmarshall

Pawls are typically made out of some very durable substances (case-hardened steel most readily comes to mind)....but, with enough wear and abuse, even they would be subject to metal fatigue.

SW17LS

And the can fail even when they aren't worn in the cases I mentioned above.

Aron9000

Yeah or if you have an old 80's/90's MOPAR, they can just suddenly jump out of park for no reason. They had a recall on the K-cars and a couple of other models with this issue.


I also have an issue with #3 and #8

#3 Carrying extra weight. I have about 200lbs of concrete blocks in the back of my truck. Reg cab Tacoma rides like crap unloaded due to the short wheelbase and its a truck, stiff rear springs designed to haul weight. The other benefit is traction, its spin city in the rain with this truck and no weight in the back. Unloaded and with snow, its almost undrivable.

#8 You aren't going to wear anything out by having the clutch fully pressed in with the car in 1st at a stoplight. The engine and transmission are fully disengaged, where you have problems is if you are lazy and only push the clutch in just enough to keep the engine from dying out. The clutch might not be fully disengaged from the engine, so you could be slipping the clutch, even at idle. With the brakes on you wouldn't notice it, since you wouldn't be creeping forward.

SW17LS

Doesn't have to be an old mopar. Like I said, happened to at least one Lexus I know, and happened on the Jeep forum also, both after minor parking lot bumps.

mmarshall

That's why they make 4WD pickups, though IMO some pickup manufacturers have delayed too long in offering automatic 4WD/AWD in addition to (or in place of) the ancient, archaic part-time 4WD systems.

Actually, yes you will. Doing that puts a lot of wear on the throwout bearing....plus a certain amount of wear on your left knee LOL. However, in heavy traffic, with honking, impatient drivers behind you who want you to want to floor it as soon as the light turns green, sometimes doing that is actually more practical. That way, you don't have to take extra time to press the clutch in, find first gear, and let the clutch out gradually again to take off. People shouldn't be like that, but, unfortunately, many are.

airgas1998

I have no doubts that the pawl wears down eventually, but I have never in my entire life experienced any issues as such or known any. perhaps one needs to be at x degrees to start having problems. I know living in san fran would be a huge no..no...