While driver’s education may teach a person how to drive, it doesn’t teach everything a person needs to know about their car. Here are 15 ‘car hacks’ that all drivers need to know. These things could also help you in the case of an accident or any emergency situation!
1. Use A Plunger to Remove Small Dents
Those annoying small dents in the car can amount to thousands of dollars to fix up! But a simple hack that works for most small dents is to use a toilet plunger by placing it over the area of the dent and getting the air pressure tight and giving it a nice little tug. Works for small and medium sized dents most of the time!
2. Know What Your Check Engine Light Means
While it may not always mean you’re going to destroy your car if you continue to drive it, in many cases, the check engine light does indicate a major problem. There’s a new device though that can actually save you thousands of dollars in car repairs. It’s called FIXD and plugs into cars manufactured after 1996. If your “check engine light” comes on it will tell you the exact reason why. This is great because it means that mechanics won’t be able to lie to you in the hopes of taking more of your hard earned money (you’d surprised how many do).
3. No Tickets? Get A Lower Auto Insurance Rate
You might think you’re already paying a low auto insurance rate, but recent research shows that only 5% of people over the age of 30 are paying less than $50 per month for car insurance. If you’re currently paying more than $50 per month, and have had no accidents or tickets in the past two years, you can probably secure a much lower car insurance rate. The best way to do that is to compare quotes from multiple insurers – let them compete for your business. Of course, insurance rates vary based on the country you’re in, but having insurance carriers compete for your business is always a good idea. On the other hand, if your countries car insurance is government run, it still never hurts to call and ask for a lower insurance premium if you’re known as a good driver. If you’re located in the United States we recommend checking out Best Quotes Auto Insurance. Once you fill out the form on their website they’ll provide you with multiple quotes you can choose from.
4. Change Your Air Filter Every 6 Months
If you want to help increase your fuel efficiency, make sure you change your air filter every six months or as recommended in your owner’s manual. A lot of people often neglect doing this, and they find that they just aren’t getting the fuel efficiency they were promised by their car manufacturer. This alone can save quite a few hundred dollars yearly.
5. Get A Roadside Emergency Flare – (Only Available in the United States)
Being stuck on a highway with a puncture or engine problem is most peoples ideas of a bad day. The Haylo Safety flare is something everyone should have with them. Offering the highest level of roadside safety for on-the-road situations and more, it can be used as a road flare and emergency beacon. It’s perfect for emergency use, camping/outdoors, road flares etc.
It’s easy to use: Just press the button and hold to turn on and cycle through the different lighting options. The super bright array can be seen up to 1 mile at night and can also provide additional protection during the day as well. The strong magnetic backing allows the Haylo to adhere to your vehicles hood.
6. Crash Safe – The Phone Charger That Could Save Your Life!r
There are over 5.4 million car crashes every year in the USA. While we’d all like to think that we or our loved ones will never experience a serious car accident, it pays to be prepared.
Car safety experts have argued for years that drivers should carry window smashers and seat belt cutters that are easily accessible in a car wreck. Do you? Even if you are one of the few drivers that carry these safety devices, you’ve probably kept them in your glovebox – dangerously far out of reach during in an accident. Fortunately, there is a revolutionary new device called the CrashSafe which is designed to be within arms reach in any car emergency. This one-of-a-kind emergency tool comes loaded with features like being a phone charger, and is designed to be plugged directly into your car’s cigarette lighter outlet (12v power port) making it easily accessible for when you need it most. The CrashSafe can be used as a phone charger, window smasher, seat belt cutter, or even an LED flashlight!
7. Free Frozen Locks With Hand Sanitizer
Even if it’s only parked out front, getting from the front door to your car in the middle of a harsh winter can be pretty miserable. It’s worse if you get there only to find the door locks are frozen shut. Hand sanitizer is your key to getting inside. The alcohol works to thaw the ice, so you can hop in and get the heater turned on high.
8. Get a Portable Handheld Car Starter
We have all experienced that moment where you turn the key and nothing happens. Nothing can be more annoying, especially when you are in a rush! Using a portable car starter is far quicker than having to find someone else to help you get the car started and finding jump cables to make it happen.
This portable car starter is the next-generation of rechargeable 4-in-1 multi-function power banks. It is compact enough to store in a glove box or under a seat when not in use, ensuring that drivers anywhere have a power option to start their vehicle in a number of situations without the need to rely on towing services or the generosity of a jumpstart from a stranger.
9. Use Toothpaste To Clear Cloudy Headlights
After many miles on the road, your car’s headlights are going to get scuffed up and cloudy. It might not majorly affect their performance, but it certainly doesn’t look good. Smear a little bit of toothpaste on a clean rag and start scrubbing the headlights. It contains mild abrasives that can remove a thin layer from the headlight housing and fill in any tiny scratches. Toothpaste is an easy and convenient compound to get your headlights clear again.
10. Transform Night Driving By Using Night Sight Glasses
Did you know that the vast majority of car accidents happen at night and right before dawn? A lot of that has to do with glare and the problems with vision many people experience.These Night Sight HD glasses promise to reduce night driving glare and eye strain, and dramatically improve seeing at night during snow or rainy conditions. They let you see enhanced colors, are durable, lightweight and fully equipped with polarized lenses. Unlike clip-ons they protect your eyes from all sides, and you just slide them over your existing pair, if you wear glasses.
11. Fill Window Damage With Nail Polish
Small stones and other road debris can leave chips and cracks in your car’s windows. Oftentimes a crack can grow, meaning you need to shell out for an expensive window replacement. Try filling in window damage with (clear) nail polish. Carefully apply a thin layer to the damaged area. When it dries, it will be almost completely invisible, and might even help prevent a crack from growing. The money you’ll save against a whole new window is worth it, but use this advice with caution.
12. Extend Your Car Warranty
While most manufacturers offer factory warranty coverage on new vehicles, they typically expire within 3 years or after 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Has your car’s auto warranty expired? Purchasing extended auto coverage offers the same peace of mind as a no-cost factory plan without the restrictions. That means if your car breaks down, malfunctions or requires a replacement component, you could enjoy huge savings on repair costs without the new car price tag. Make sure you shop around for rates on this.
13. Know When Your Oil Needs Changing
This is an obvious one that every car owner should know. While the rule of thumb used to be every three months or around 5,000 miles, that’s no longer true for all new cars. Read your manual to know when your vehicle’s oil change is due, we recommend setting the date on your calendar. If you’re not sure when you should change your oil, some signs to look for are if your oil looks black & gritty, your engine sounds louder than usual, or you notice the oil level drops. Some newer luxury models will also provide you with an alert when you need to change your oil.
14. Turn Your Smartphone Into A Heads Up Display
If you never used a heads up display before then that means you are bound to look down to your phone once in a while if it isn’t properly placed. This brilliant new device turns your smartphone into a heads up display for your car. It’s called VIZR. All you have to do is take it out of the box and place it on your dash, place your smartphone on top of it and let it do all the navigating while you drive. It’s a transparent display that works in any weather, day or night. It also fits any smartphone no matter the size, and it’s slip resistant. Best of all, there are tons of apps available that you can use to see traffic conditions, a speedometer, street maps & much more. You can use it in any car – it has an ultra-grip mat that leaves no messy residue on the dash.
15. Park Your Car Facing East to Defrost Windscreen in the Morning.
Although it seems simple you can save some considerable time in the morning. If you live in a place where frost is a big problem on winter mornings and leave your car parked outside then this is for you.
Whenever you can make sure you park your car facing east. As the sun rises in the east you’re using the suns warmth to defrost the ice on your windscreen rather than you having to stay outside in the cold and scrape it off yourself. With this trick you should be able to use your windscreen wipers to do the not so heavy lifting for you. Who doesn’t want a little bit of added comfort on a cold winters morning?
