Articles — Car care & driving

Car care & driving Fuel Quality Indicators: What Octane and Cetane Numbers Mean What is an octane number? What about a cetane number? Which fuel should you choose for a high-compression engine? You'll find the answers in this article.

Car care & driving How to Pick Up Your Car from the Dealership the Right Way If you've decided to buy a car from a dealership, it isn't enough to simply choose a model you like, pay for it, and sign the paperwork to complete the deal.

Car care & driving How Does Climate Control Work in Winter? Virtually all modern vehicles come with a climate control system. Designed to keep the cabin comfortable, it works reliably in both scorching summer heat and freezing winter weather.

Car care & driving Cooking in Your Car: Which Devices Should You Use? A long-awaited break on a tiring drive is a great chance to refuel without leaving the car. Hot coffee and a hearty sandwich packed for the road lift your mood and give you energy for the rest of the trip. Food gets harder when a trip lasts several days and you don't want to eat at questionable roadside diners.

Car care & driving What Is Nitrous Oxide and What Is It Used For? Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the simplest and most effective ways to increase engine power, whether you race your car or just drive it every day.

Car care & driving Fuel Injector Maintenance for Gasoline Engines The fuel injector plays a key role in how a modern engine runs. This article explains how to service your injection system properly.

Car care & driving How to Use a Jump Starter Booster to Start Your Engine in Freezing Weather It's hard to surprise an experienced driver with a compact jump starter battery pack, and these units have become much cheaper lately. But there's a catch. Car battery terminals come in many shapes and sizes, so a jump starter doesn't always connect well to the battery, and the starter motor may fail to turn over.

Car care & driving Off-Road Accessories for SUVs: Bull Bars and Protective Gear What bull bars are, what they're for, how they differ, and other detailed questions answered in this article.

Car care & driving DIY Cosmetic Body Repair: Fixing Minor Scratches at Home How to get rid of minor scratches on your car's paint without a trip to the body shop.

Car care & driving Air Filters for Fuel-Injected Engines What are the trends in air filters for fuel-injected engines? What technologies are used, and what results do they deliver? Read the overview in this article.

Car care & driving Diagnosing Your Engine at Home: What to Listen, Look, and Smell For Not every car owner is a professional mechanic, and most of us don't have the means or the need to do major repairs in the garage. But...

Car care & driving How to Drive on Highways and Rural Roads: Useful Tips for New Drivers and Veterans Alike Today we're sharing some tips that you won't find in any vehicle maintenance manual. They're all about driving on highways and open country roads.

Car care & driving Dent in Your Car Door? Fix It Yourself! Dents and scratches on vehicles are hardly a rare occurrence.

Car care & driving How to Properly Care for Your Engine For many drivers, "car maintenance" goes no further than changing the engine oil or the filter. Even these small jobs need to be done carefully and with some know-how.

Car care & driving Shock Absorbers: Hydraulic vs. Gas-Charged Car shock absorbers are usually divided into two main groups: hydraulic and gas-charged. In reality, this classification is somewhat arbitrary, because even hydraulic shocks contain gas (air), which acts as a compensating element.

Car care & driving Child Car Seats: Classification by Group Just bought a car and want to take your child along on the road? Don't forget a child car seat.

Car care & driving European Car Classification: What Do All Those Letters Mean? Letters are commonly used to describe a car's class, but even today not everyone fully understands what a given letter actually means.

Car care & driving The Most Useless Car Features The American company J.D. Power and Associates ran a study to find out which modern car features owners actually find useful. The results showed that some drivers don't just dislike certain features. They don't even know how to use them.

Car care & driving What Is a Differential and How Does It Work? The automotive differential was invented nearly two hundred years ago. Its design has changed over time, but its core features and operating principles remain the same. Let's look at what a differential is and what it does in a car.

Car care & driving How to Fix a Hole in Your Gas Tank Yourself A fuel tank is a container designed to store and carry the fuel that powers an internal combustion engine. In production passenger cars, it is usually located at the rear of the body, under the floor of the vehicle.

Car care & driving How to Drive a Manual Transmission Car: Tips for Beginners A practical guide to driving a car with a manual transmission.

Car care & driving How to Choose the Right Trip Computer Most trip computers are universal and designed for fuel-injected engines, but the most advanced units are built for specific makes and models, taking their technical quirks into account.

Car care & driving Waterless Car Washing: How It Works How often do you wash your car yourself? How much water do you usually use? Two, three, four buckets, or more? Read on to learn about a car care method that doesn't need water at all.

Car care & driving How to Read Your Engine's Condition from Its Spark Plugs Sometimes a driver needs to catch a problem early, even though nothing seems wrong. One of the most effective ways to check an engine's condition is to look at the spark plugs.

Car care & driving How to Choose a Family Car In this article, we share a few tips to help future car owners make the right choice.

Car care & driving How to Deep Clean Your Car's Interior Yourself There comes a day when you realize your four-wheeled friend needs a serious cleaning.

Car care & driving The Language of Drivers on the Road Not everyone knows it, but drivers have their own language. Once you learn it, you can easily communicate with other road users without ever leaving your car.

Car care & driving Car Alarms: What They Are and How They Work Just bought your first car? Don't forget to protect yourself and your vehicle...

Car care & driving Gas (LPG) Conversions: Myths and Facts. Article 1 Explains the advantages of running an engine on gas (LPG) and how the myth that gas harms the engine got started.

Car care & driving Winter Driving: A Guide to Handling Your Car in Cold Weather Today a car is no longer a luxury but simply a way to get around, and hardly any drivers leave their four-wheeled friend parked in the garage for the winter. Everyone drives every day, whatever the conditions.

Car care & driving German Turbo Engines vs. Chinese Ones: Which Lasts Longer? An Honest Look at Engine Life Volkswagen 1.4 and 2.0 TSI, BMW N20 and Mercedes M274 versus Haval, Chery and Geely engines: lifespan benchmarks, typical problems, and how to extend the life of any turbo engine. An honest caveat: there are no failure statistics by brand, so every figure here is an estimate from mechanics and repair shops.

Car care & driving Getting Your Diesel Engine Ready for Winter Winter makes life harder for a diesel engine. In the cold, fuel becomes more viscous and doesn't atomize well through the injector. Even once it is sprayed, it can condense like dew inside the combustion chamber, which makes it harder to vaporize.

Car care & driving Xenon Headlights: Pros and Cons It wasn't that long ago that xenon headlights were a big luxury that only very wealthy drivers could afford.

Car care & driving How to Wash Your Car the Right Way When you buy a new car, you want it to stay looking new for as long as possible. But how should you care for your car's body? Read on for the details...

Car care & driving How to Make Sure You Didn't Get Ripped Off at the Tire Shop Heading to a tire shop, or just planning to swap your car's tires? Don't let yourself get cheated...

Car care & driving Getting Your Car Ready for Winter The problems cars run into in cold weather, and what to do about them.

Car care & driving All-Season Tires: Key Features, Differences, and Benefits All-season tires are a separate category of car tires designed for year-round use. They can be a good alternative to seasonal tires for owners who want to save time and money. Still, whether they are worth buying remains a hot topic of debate among experts and everyday drivers alike.

Car care & driving Getting Your Car Ready for a Road Trip Vacation season is coming, and many drivers are eager to hit the road, whether it's a beach getaway, a long trip across the country, or even a journey abroad.

Car care & driving How to Tint Your Car Windows Yourself Contrary to popular belief, tinting your car's windows isn't a labor-intensive or expensive job.

Car care & driving How to Get Your Car Ready for Winter Fall is here, and it's time to think about getting your car ready for winter. This article walks you through the process.

Car care & driving How to Save Gas: Practical Fuel-Saving Tips Here are some tips that can significantly cut your fuel consumption and save you money when budgets are tight.

Car care & driving How to Get Rid of Cigarette Smell in Your Car Car buyers often look at the used market and end up purchasing a pre-owned vehicle. But during an inspection, you may notice that the cabin smells strongly of smoke.

Car care & driving How to Repair a Windshield Yourself Most drivers won't enjoy learning that they caused the crack in their windshield themselves. There are only two cases where the owner can't influence the outcome: a crack from a flying stone or a factory defect.

Car care & driving Carbureted Cars: How to Extend Their Life The carburetor is one of the most important parts of the engine in almost every car built before the 1980s. Its main job is to mix fuel and air in the optimal ratio and feed that mixture to the cylinders of the internal combustion engine.

Car care & driving How to Choose the Right Motor Oil Winter is over, and the season everyone loves for road trips and getting out into nature is almost here. That means it's time to think about changing one of the most important fluids in your car.

Car care & driving How to Avoid Buying a Wrecked Car Planning to buy a used car? Read this article first.

Car care & driving Driving at Night: Safety Tips Night is the most dangerous time of day to be on the road.

Car care & driving How to Spot a Flood-Damaged Car When tsunamis struck Japan, they destroyed many homes and damaged countless vehicles. As a result, a large number of flood-damaged cars ended up on the used car market.

Car care & driving How to Choose Mud-Terrain Tires If you drive off-road, the first thing to sort out is the right set of tires for your SUV. Mud-terrain tires are usually the best choice.

Car care & driving How to Choose the Right Alloy Wheels for Your Car Thinking about buying new wheels for your ride? Choosing the right ones isn't as simple as it looks. Here's what to check before you buy.

Car care & driving Basic Rules for Taking Care of Your Car Every car owner wants their vehicle to serve them faithfully for many years. A car's condition depends largely on the care it gets.

Car care & driving How to Get Rid of Bad Smells in Your Car A new car greets you with that fresh "new car" smell. Over time, though, the interior picks up foreign and not always pleasant odors.

Car care & driving How to Install Parking Sensors Yourself It takes time to learn the ropes and avoid mistakes, but you can make life easier right away with some modern car equipment.

Car care & driving How to Replace a Windshield the Right Way The front windshield is the part of a car that gets damaged most often, and it may eventually need to be replaced.

Car care & driving How to Choose the Right Coolant for Your Car The cooling system is one of the most important systems in your car, and it needs proper care...

Car care & driving How to Beat Rust on Your Car It's a well-known fact that the body of virtually any car is prone to corrosion sooner or later. Some cars resist it for a long time, while others show symptoms after just one year on the road.

Car care & driving Fixing a Puncture in a Tubeless Tire Any experienced driver knows that a puncture in a tubeless tire isn't always easy to find. If you can't see the head of the nail or screw, locating the leak can take a long time.

Car care & driving How Chemical Deposits Form in Your Engine Automotive technology keeps evolving, improving the durability of every part in a vehicle. Compared with twenty years ago, today's engineering significantly extends the life of the engine, suspension, and other components, and the interval between scheduled maintenance visits has dropped by almost two-thirds.

Car care & driving How to Start Your Engine in Freezing Weather How often do you try to start your car on a winter morning, only to have it flat-out refuse? Here are some ways to help.

Car care & driving How to Change Your Coolant Yourself If you own a car, replacing the coolant (antifreeze) on schedule is key to keeping the engine running reliably for years.

Car care & driving Diesel Engines A gasoline engine is fairly inefficient, converting only about 26% of the energy from burning fuel into useful work. Its diesel counterpart is more productive, with an efficiency of around 36%.

Car care & driving Chip Tuning: A Modern Way to Reprogram Your Engine's Power Every car enthusiast has wondered at least once: how can I make my car go faster?

Car care & driving Hybrid Cars: Pros and Cons Thinking about buying a hybrid car? In this article, we break down the main advantages and disadvantages of these powertrains.

Car care & driving How to Store Tires Properly The summer driving season is over, and it's time to put on your winter tires and put the summer set into storage until warmer weather returns. Are there any rules or recommendations for storing summer tires? Yes, there are. If you want to avoid tire problems down the road, you need to store them correctly.

Car care & driving Winter Car Care Tips A few simple tips for driving and maintaining your car in winter.

Car care & driving Car Audio: What to Know Before You Upgrade Thinking about installing a quality sound system in your car? Have you considered all the details?

Car care & driving How to Avoid Trouble When Passing on the Highway How often does passing on the highway end badly? You hear the squeal of brakes and the screech of metal, and the result is wrecked cars and sometimes injured people. But if you pass the right way, you can avoid all of it.

Car care & driving Why Breaking In a New Car Matters, and the Basic Rules Every owner wants their new ride to use as little fuel as possible and run trouble-free for as long as possible...

Car care & driving Useful Information About Airbags Over time it became clear that you can never have too much safety, so engineers began developing additional safety systems. The result was the first airbag: a soft cushion that deploys in a collision.

Car care & driving How ABS Helps You Behind the Wheel The ABS is designed to keep the wheels from locking up completely during emergency braking, when an inexperienced driver often loses control of the car.

Car care & driving Hood and Window Deflectors: Protection and a Stylish Accessory Once a driver becomes a car owner, they start taking great care of it. Wanting to keep the car looking showroom-fresh for as long as possible, owners practically blow the dust off every part of a brand-new vehicle.

Car care & driving All-Wheel Drive: Important Facts You Should Know Do you need an all-wheel-drive car, how does the price change, and why should your stability control always stay on? Here are answers to some important questions we've gathered for you as spring approaches.

Car care & driving How to Change the Oil in Your Car Every car owner has to deal with oil changes, so how is it done? Read on to find out...

Car care & driving How to Drive Safely in the Rain Not every driver, even an experienced one, knows how to behave on the road in rainy weather. That's not surprising: rain greatly reduces visibility and makes the road slippery, and high humidity causes the windows to fog up.

Car care & driving Automatic Transmissions: Pros and Cons Thinking about buying a car with an automatic transmission? Read this article and decide whether it's right for you.

Car care & driving How to Make Your Car Last Longer Every driver goes through certain stages of learning along the way, gradually coming to understand their car better and better.

Car care & driving 10 Ways to Become a Better Driver Useful tips that will help you handle your car with confidence and avoid mistakes behind the wheel.

Car care & driving All-Wheel-Drive Systems: Differences and Advantages Crossovers and SUVs are more popular than ever, and one of their biggest selling points is all-wheel drive. But AWD works very differently from one type of vehicle to another. Let's look at how.

Car care & driving Your Safety Is in the Hands of Modern Technology We've already covered the anti-lock braking system (ABS), which helps the driver during emergency braking.

Car care & driving What Actually Breaks: Engines and Transmissions in Popular Chinese Cars, a Reliability Breakdown How long the engine and transmission last in the Haval Jolion and F7, Chery Tiggo 7 Pro, and Geely Coolray and Monjaro. Lifespan benchmarks based on estimates from Za Rulem and Avto.ru, typical failures, and what to check before buying a used one. One honest caveat: there are no failure statistics by brand, so every figure here is an expert estimate.

Car care & driving How to Tint Your Car Windows Yourself This article explains how to tint your car windows yourself, without taking the car to a shop.

Car care & driving Save Fuel: 10 Ways to Cut Your Car's Fuel Consumption The tips in this article can make a real difference in how much fuel your car uses.

Car care & driving How to Take Care of Your Spark Plugs Spark plugs are what your car can't start or run without. Do you know how to take proper care of them? Find out in this article...

Car care & driving How to Choose a Car Battery Any modern car battery is a powerful, durable component that typically lasts 3 to 7 years. Sooner or later, though, every battery reaches the end of its life, and you'll need to pick a replacement.

Car care & driving How to Choose Your Car's Color Picking a color for your next car is usually a surprisingly tough decision. When you buy a vehicle, color is one of the main criteria, right alongside design, price and technical specifications...

Car care & driving How Auto Body Repair Works: Frame Straightening and Collision Repair A car is more than just one of the hundreds of everyday items around us. When you've spent a significant amount of money on something, you want it to serve you well for a long time.

Car care & driving How to Choose a Dash Cam A dash cam has become an increasingly important piece of equipment for any car. That's no surprise: the road is the road, and no one is immune to surprises, ambiguous situations, or even outright disputes. In those moments, a dash cam becomes an objective, unbiased source of reliable information about what actually happened.

Car care & driving Anti-Theft Systems: A Mechanical Gearbox Lock How can you add extra protection against car theft? Read on to find out...

Car care & driving How to Get Rid of Condensation on Your Car's Windows Every driver knows the problem of condensation forming on a car's windows and mirrors. It happens most often in winter, as well as in the shoulder seasons of fall and spring.

Car care & driving What Are Fuel and Oil Additives For? A look at the different engine and transmission additives, how they differ, whether you should use them, and tips for using them.

Car care & driving How to Choose an Auto Repair Shop A detailed, practical guide to choosing the right auto repair shop to service and maintain your car.

Car care & driving Which Drivetrain Should You Choose: FWD, RWD, or AWD? If you've decided to buy a car and still aren't sure which drivetrain it should have, read this article!

Car care & driving How to Choose Summer Tires for Your Car Choosing summer tires isn't easy. Use this article to learn all the fine points of the process.

Car care & driving How Can You Extend the Life of Your Engine? Not long ago, repeatedly rebuilding an engine and replacing its many components was considered a perfectly normal part of owning any car. Over the years, though, that attitude has steadily become outdated.

Car care & driving Using a Mobile Phone While Driving How often do you talk on your cell phone while driving? Are you really sure you have the situation under control?...

Car care & driving How to Buy a Used Car This article lays out a clear, proven step-by-step routine that will help you avoid getting burned when buying a used car, and save you the cost of a professional inspection at a service center.

Car care & driving How to Clean Carbon Deposits From Your Engine Yourself This article explains how to remove carbon deposits and coking from the piston group of your engine yourself.

Car care & driving 10 Essential Car Checks What to check before you take your car out of the garage...

Car care & driving Why Do You Need a Computer Diagnostic Scan? Is your Check Engine light on? You need a computer diagnostic scan right away!

Car care & driving Getting Your Car Ready for Winter Key tips to help keep your car in good shape through the winter months.

Car care & driving What to Do If Your Brakes Fail While Driving A checklist of actions that can help you avoid a crash when your braking system fails.

Car care & driving How to Tow a Vehicle Safely Every driver has been there: the car simply won't go on its own. What now? Call a tow truck? Wait, there's another option...

Car care & driving What to Do If Your Spark Plugs Are Flooded One reason your engine may not start is unburned fuel soaking the spark plugs.

Car care & driving How to Clear Snow Off Your Car Start by turning on the engine. Keep in mind that you shouldn't switch on the windshield defroster while snow is still sitting on the glass and on the climate system's air intakes. If you forget this rule, snow can get into the ductwork and make it harder to heat the cabin.

Car care & driving How to Reduce Your Car's Fuel Consumption How much do you spend on fuel every month? A lot? Want to know how to cut that cost? Read on to find out...

Car care & driving How to Choose Summer Tires Today there is a huge variety of summer tires for both passenger cars and trucks.

Car care & driving Diesel vs. Gasoline Engines: How to Choose the Right Engine for Your Car Owning a car is no longer a luxury. Most of us face the question of which car to buy at some point, and the first thing future owners usually ask is which type of engine to choose. Which is better: gasoline or diesel?

Car care & driving How to Choose Winter Tires Every year, when the first snow falls, we see the same thing: lines of drivers form at repair shops and tire shops, all waiting to switch their cars to winter tires. It makes sense, because summer tires can't provide safe driving in winter conditions.

Car care & driving DIY Car Repair: Yes or No? When we buy a brand-new car, we always hope it will serve us faithfully for many years. But things don't always go the way we want.