4 Car Problems and Their Repairs

As a car owner, your vehicle will develop problems due to worn out parts, poor maintenance or accident damage. Read this article to learn the various issues your vehicle may develop and how to prevent and repair them.

1. Vehicle Not Starting

Most drivers have experienced this problem at some point. There is a myriad of reasons why your vehicle does start. They include:

  • A dead battery. Your vehicle will crank but not start. More often than not, the dashboard lights and accessories in your car will not work. You could either kick-start the vehicle or jumpstart the battery.
  • Fuel line problems. A clogged fuel filter will cause your car to stop or misfire. Consequently, the engine will not start since it does not have sufficient fuel. If the fuel pump is dead, the car will not start at all.
  • Faulty lead wires or spark plugs affect the vehicle's ignition cycle. This causes ignition problems.
  • A clogged air filter chokes the engine. As a result, it will not start.

2. Overheating

Overheating occurs when the engine's internal temperatures exceed the required threshold. If your temperature gauge is rising, open the bonnet and check whether the fans are functional. The fans drive hot air in the radiator fins into the atmosphere. If they are dysfunctional, the engine will overheat. A loose radiator cap will cause hot gases in the radiator to escape. When this happens, the engine will not have enough coolant, thus causing the vehicle to overheat. Check underneath the car for signs of water leakage. If it exists, your radiator could be leaking. Alternatively, the hoses could be loose.

3. Uneven Tire Wear

There are several types of tire wear. Your tires will have centre wear if they are over-inflated. On the contrary, side wear indicates under-inflation. If the tires are worn out on one side, your vehicle could have alignment problems. To fix misalignment, you need to adjust the camber, caster and toe. Worn out patches indicate balancing problems. Wheel balancing and alignment can be fixed at your local tire shop.  

4. Too Much Smoke

White smoke indicates a leaking head gasket, presence of coolant in the combustion chamber or a cracked head cylinder or engine block. Blue-grey smoke is a sign of burning engine oil. Therefore, your vehicle will need new oil seals and gaskets. Black smoke signals poor combustion. In this case, the engine has more fuel than air. As such, you could be dealing with a faulty injector.

Preventive maintenance will help prevent most vehicle repairs. An experienced and specialised mechanic can diagnose most of these problems at an early stage, therefore, saving you expensive mechanical repairs.


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