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12 Bad Driving Habits That Ruin Your Engine: Adjust Your Habits And Save Your Engine!

Bad Driving Habits That Ruin Your Engine

The 12 bad driving habits that ruin your engine include:

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  1. Not changing the oil regularly
  2. Running on low fuel
  3. Ignoring warning lights
  4. Under-estimating overheating
  5. Overloading your vehicle
  6. Over-revving your engine
  7. Idling for long times
  8. Hard accelerating
  9. Using the wrong fuel
  10. Not using the right oil
  11. Ignoring tire rotations
  12. Skipping regular maintenance

Your vehicle's engine is the core of your car. It serves as the heart, and if it is not in good shape, it can easily damage your vehicle and prevent you from driving it.

Unfortunately, many inexperienced drivers might need to do better in their driving habits, which could lead to damaging the engines prematurely. Therefore, automotive experts always like to  remind those drivers of these bad habits to help reduce pretty much for engine problems.

This article walks you through the 12 most common driving habits that ruin your engine. We highly encourage you to review your driving style and adjust to those habits, so you keep the engine.

12 driving habits that ruin your engine

The bad driving habits that impact your engine don't necessarily have to do with how you drive your car or your driving style. However, many practices have to do with your vehicle that can lead to damaging the engine.


In other words, people first think bad driving habits include hitting the brakes hard or using fuel. However, some habits have to do with maintaining your car and paying attention to regular maintenance.

Let's take a closer look at what automotive experts put together regarding the list of driving habits that ruin your engine:

1.    Not changing the oil regularly

The first and most critical thing you might ignore is the oil changes. Your engine requires oil to prevent overheating that is resulted due to friction between the internal components. If you ignore an oil change, you are sacrificing the engine and causing your vehicle to deal with premature engine damages that you don't want to deal with.

2.    Running on low fuel

Another important thing that people might understand is running the vehicle on low fuel. According to automotive experts, not having enough fuel might stress out your engine and cause it to work beyond what it can. Thus, you can easily ruin your engine by continuously running on low fuel.

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3.    Ignoring warning lights

The warning lights on the dashboards allow your vehicle to communicate with you and bring your attention to internal problems. Therefore, the last thing you want to do is ignore these warning lights because they can easily damage several components, including the engine.

The check engine light is an important one because it has directly to do with the engine. So sometimes, this light might refer to a different problem that could interact with the engine, which doesn't necessarily mean the engine is failing.

Because of the cause of the check engine whirling lights, you will need to address it as soon as possible to avoid further damages that could cost you the entire vehicle.

4.    Under-estimating overheating

Engine overheating is a complex problem because it can easily lead to your engine getting self-destructed. In other words, if the engine operates beyond the maximum temperature threshold, it will be stressed out and might get seized in no time. Therefore, to protect your investments and prevent dealing with situations where you have to replace the engine, you must always appreciate the overheating problems.

That's why you must pay attention to the temperature gauge on the dashboard so the engine can succeed without you noticing. Also, you notice that the engine is overheating continuously. In that case, you'll need to talk about the topic with the mechanic because several components could be causing the problem and need to be taken care of as soon as possible.

car overheats when the AC is on

5.    Overloading your vehicle

Every vehicle is designed in a way to withstand a certain load. That's why automotive experts always recommend never overloading your engine, no matter your vehicle's power. If you add more load beyond your vehicle's capability, you're stressing the engine and causing it to get damaged prematurely. That's why overloading your engine is an important driving habit that ruins your engine, so you need to adjust it.

Therefore, if you would like to enhance your engine's lifespan and avoid dealing with bad habits that ruin your engine, you must maintain the load below the recommendations in the vehicle owner's manual.

6.    Over-revving your engine

A lot of inexperienced drivers might enjoy the fact of revving their engines. However, if you overdo this thing, it can easily cause stress—the engine and result in significant problems that you might need help to afford to fix.

Although it might be fun to Rev your engine, especially if you're driving a support vehicle, you must keep a balance and avoid obsessing with this habit because it can cost you significant money on the repair.

White Smoke From Exhaust When Accelerating

7.    Idling for long times

Another important thing you would never want to do is idle for a long time. According to automotive experts, continuous idling might kill your vehicle and damage your car in no time.

For example, if you're planning to wait for somebody in the car, you should turn off the vehicle completely rather than keep it idling while consuming energy. This is because not only will you consume the fuel but also impact significant components like the engine and many others.

8.    Hard accelerating

Another important driving habit is when your engine hits the accelerating pedal very hard. Unfortunately, this same principle applies to the gas pedal, which leads to overseeing the vehicle and causing damages to the engine's internal components, which could lead to very high repair costs.

That's why no matter what you have ahead of you, you must be as gentle as possible on your vehicle and use the different components without any hard pressure so you don't deal with significant outcomes that could cost you a lot of money to get fixed.

Sudden Unintended Acceleration

9.    Using the wrong fuel

Your vehicle's owner's manual should have recommendations about the type of fuel you should use. Going with premium fuel is a good solution for protecting their vehicles. However, that's only sometimes the case unless it's recommended in your vehicle's owner's manual.

On the other hand, if your owner's manual requires premium fuel, going with a lower-quality fuel can easily damage the engine and cause different components to fail.

10.  Not using the right oil

Similar to the right fuel, your vehicle requires a specific type of oil that you need to keep up with. Again, if you look into your vehicle's owner's manual, you should find detailed recommendations about the type of all your vehicle must have.

Certain vehicles might need synthetic oil, while others might be fine with regular oil. However, if your car needs synthetic oil, you must stick with it because otherwise, it can lead to significant damage that could cost you the entire engine.

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11.  Ignoring tire rotations

While tires are not directly connected to the engine, they might impact how your engine works and could reduce the engine's lifespan. In other words, every vehicle requires certain maintenance, like tire rotation. If you don't rotate the tire, the engine and the entire vehicle will be leaning towards one side more than the other, which results in further engine stress. Thus, if you don't perform tire rotations, this is a very common bad driving habit that ruins your engine.

12.  Skipping regular maintenance

Finally, there is a list of additional maintenance that you have to keep up with according to your vehicle owner's manual. Therefore, automotive experts always recommend that you follow what your manufacturer needs and what's specified to avoid further damage to the engine and the surrounding components.

For instance, your owner's manual should recommend the type of spark plugs you need in the vehicle and when to check them. Please do so to avoid having failed spark plugs that impact how your engine operates, which leads to a shortened lifetime of your engine.

vehicle maintenance schedule you should follow

Final thoughts

Your vehicle is one of your most significant investments, and investments that you have, and that's why you need to be very careful about your driving habits that could ruin your engine. This article walks you through 12 driving habits that ruin your engine if you underestimate them.

These habits include not choosing or changing your oil, ignoring regular maintenance, putting in the wrong fuel, hitting the brake hard, etcetera. So, you must revisit your driving habits and take a better care of your car to keep your investment.

Suppose you think your vehicle has a significant problem, and t might not be worth adjusting your habits or maintaining any remaining components. In that case, it could be a perfect time to sell this car and purchase a vehicle that deserves it.

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