10 Most Common Car Problems and their Easy Solutions

A machine is not for eternity and with years of being time-tested in various conditions, it is meant to witness some kind of breakdowns. The same goes with cars, even though the modern-day cars are as robust as it gets, still there are various factors which can cause a car to put down every once in a while.

Today, we take a look at 10 such common car problems and their relatively easy solutions.

1. Dead or Discharged Battery

   

   A dead or discharged battery is a very common car problem reported. There are plenty of reasons for your car battery to doze off like leaving electricals on when not in use, faulty charging, parasitic drain, defective alternator if the battery is beginning to show its age and the one which is the COVID-19 Lockdown special is leaving the car unused for a long time.

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   All these factors can cause a car battery to rapidly discharge which will make your car in-operational when you need it. So if you ever end up in such a situation with your car, there basically two options you can resort to:

   • Jump starting the car: for this, you need a jumper cable and a donor car whose battery you will use to charge your car. Place the positive and negative terminals of the jumper cable on the positive and negative terminal of the donor car battery respectively. Then start the donor car and let it run for a few minutes. After some time, your car battery would be charged enough for ignition and once it is done, try the ignition of your car. You’ll be good to go. Want to skip the hassle? Simply book a jumpstart service with GoMechanic and we will handle the situation for you.
   • Charging the battery: if you have access to a mechanic in a situation of car battery discharge, then the best thing to do is get the battery removed and the mechanic will put it up on charging so that it can attain all the juice back. These practices can work a couple of times maybe but if your car battery isn’t responding even after trying both the things then you probably want to consider getting a new battery for your car.

2. Car pulling on one side

   

   You’re out on the highway or you’re simply coming back from the office and while driving your car in a straight line for some time you realise that your car is throwing itself to the guardrail and you have to put in extra effort to keep your car straight-lined. This can be a very panicky situation for a novice driver.

    

   But not to worry, nothing terrible has happened to your car, it’s just that your car is out of alignment i.e all four wheels aren’t pointing in a linear manner and they are off their usual angle with the road while moving. The solution to this you ask? Get your car’s Wheel Alignment done. Tyre experts at GoMechanic with the help of computer-aided systems can align your car tyres back in no time.

   Wheel alignment is recommended to be checked after every 6,000-8,000 kms to avoid any major damage to the wheels or the suspension of the car.

3. Uneven tyre wear

   

   After a significant number of daily drives and road trips, you begin to notice an unusual tyre wear i.e the tread wear of a particular tyre does not match with the rest of the tyres. This means that you need to get wheel balancing done on an immediate basis. Interestingly, the front tyres of a car are more prone to uneven tyre wear as they experience more pressure and weight offset.

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   Hence, the most effective solution for uneven tyre wear is getting your wheels balanced or to switch the affected tyre with the spare one to prevent any mishaps.

4. Engine Overheating

   

   The process of combusting power out of an engine is piping hot and in order to keep the heat optimum for efficient combustion, components like radiators are there at the engines disposal.

   So while driving if your car’s temp gauge goes all red and your car’s engine is overheating unusually then it is certain that there’s something wrong with your car’s cooling system.

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   The most common problem for engine overheating might be the low coolant level. Your car’s regular service always includes a coolant top-up, so the main reason for low coolant is irregular servicing of your car.

   So if your car is constantly overheating, do check for the coolant levels and keep it up to the mark.

5. Car Paint Fading and Chipping

   

   If your car is parked out in the open, chances are that you will definitely face the problem of your car’s paint gradually fading and also chipping out from different sections around the car.

   Primary causes for these are, the Ultraviolet rays from exposure to sun, corrosion, use of low-quality cleaning agents, harsh cleaning, etc.

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   But these aren’t permanent and can be redone, just go for an experienced car body shop and they can paint your car to look as good as new. Also, there are various high-grade coating kits available in the market to help you preserve the natural shade of your car’s paint for a significant time.

6. Low fuel mileage

   

   Even though aggressive driving is one of the major causes of your car’s low fuel efficiency. However, if your car’s fuel efficiency is taking a hit despite you being a responsible driver then it is about time that you get your car serviced.

   Delay in car servicing can cause parts like spark plugs, O2 sensors, fuel injectors and air filters to get dirty and clogged up and hence they cannot function efficiently for optimum combustion of fuel.

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   Hence, a comprehensive servicing of your car means all such parts are cleaned up or replaced (if necessary) and you can get your car’s fuel efficiency back on track.

7. Exhaust Smoke

   

   Unusual smoke from your car’s tailpipe isn’t good news and different colours of smoke depict a different story.

   • White or Grey Smoke: White smoke indicates that the coolant is being combusted along with the fuel and there is a leakage somewhere in the Engine block, cylinder head and head gasket.
   • Blue Smoke: Blue smoke indicates that there is a leakage in the valve seals or guides or the piston rings have worn out, which are causing the engine oil to penetrate into the combustion chamber which is causing the oil to burn along with the fuel. Hence Causing Blue Smoke
   • Black Smoke: This means that excessive fuel is being burnt in the combustion chambers due to a leak in the fuel injector, a stuck fuel pressure regulator or a restriction in the fuel combustion pipe. This usually happens with relatively older cars and in such situations, it is very crucial to get the leaks checked from a specialised mechanic.
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8. Low Engine Oil Level

   

   Low engine oil level can cause your engine to underperform significantly. Something which is again caused due to delayed car service and aggressive driving.

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   It is not at all healthy to make your car run at a low engine oil level as it causes severe wear and tear of many engine components. So in order to prevent any major damages to the engine, timely engine oil top-up is a must.

9. Squealing Brakes

   

   Squealing brakes are unpleasant and way more unsafe. It is primarily caused by worn-off brake pads. Frequent over-speeding means the brakes are used more than usual and hence causes excessive wear of the brake pads.

   Ignoring squealing brakes is not good, as less responsive brakes can even lead to severe accidents. Hence as soon as you hear your brakes going all high pitched, get your brake pads replaced from your trusted car service partner GoMechanic.

10. Low AC Cooling

    

    In countries especially like India, where we use the air conditioner in our cars for a major part of the year, there is no way we one can let the AC go bad.

    What usually affects the cooling of the car AC is an AC gas leakage. Other factors include a Clogged or broken Compressor. We recommend you to get your car AC serviced from specialised technicians at GoMechanic who can fix such issues in no time.

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