Quirky habits...

[OneEyeJack]

Do you have any habits that you consider good for your vehicle in one way or another that involve things you do or don't do in your quest to make your car run longer and maybe require less maintenance and so on. I'll start with just a few.

1. I turn the heater control to hot at least once a week to circulate coolant through the heater even in the hot summer time. I also run the a/c every week even in the winter just to exercise the system. I don't have a climate control system.

2. I go out of my way to park in the shade when I go shopping even if it means a bit of walking to get to the store.

3. I live at the bottom of a long driveway (100 yards) and I turn off the engine and coast down it and time the garage door opener so that I can coast right into the garage. (manual transmission car)

I know that the difference made by these habits are not enough to measure but it make me fell like I'm doing something good for my car. And I'll bet I'm not the only one with a few of these habits.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I have added oil to my Saturn engine every week for the past 10 years. I guess you could say the Saturn is quirky, I just do what is needed to keep it alive.

 

[earlyre]

well, my compressor runs year round, either to run the ac to keep my fat butt chilled, or in the cold months to run the defroster, as that same fat carcass tends to put off a lot of moist heat, and the windows WILL start to fog if i don't run it.

as a driver of a Dark grey car, with a black interior, i WISH could find a shady spot to park, esp while i'm @ work (retail) but our lot is acres of open blacktop, spaces oriented east/west, so even if you put a shade in your front window in the morning, by the time you go home, the sun's been beaming in the back for hours...

but back to your quirky question, me? not so much, but my brother always looks for the spaces off to the side of the building, where there's less traffic flow, and he feels he's less likely to get door, or cart dings.

 

[Gabe]

I turn off the radio and climate control before I get out. The thinking is that it will drain the system less when I start the car - the habit has stuck with me since I started driving.

During the summer, my Grandpa will park his car with the windows cracked 1/8 inch to let the heat out.

 

[kyxtremetuber]

I have a block heater I use on my fusion when ever it gets below 32.if it does any thing for oil flow I'm sure its minimal but it is nice to have warm air right away

 

[Brybo86]

I typically turn of all of the accessories, radio, seat warmers, a/c, etc before turning off car... thinking that when I go to start it again there will be less load on the starting system

 

[Quest]

(1)I turn on my A/C once a week or 2, letting it run for about 10 mins before shutting it off. This is to allow the oil to circulate.

(2)I accelerate gently from cold.

(3)I check and clean my PCV valve once every 1/2 yr or max, 1 yr.

(4) I usually shut off A/C before I shut down the engine.

(5) I usually let my engine return to idle before I key off the engine (shut off).

(6) I check all my fluids on a weekly basis.

(7) tire pressure top up or check every weekend (factory spec.)

for the rest of the things: I don't do things differently than many other average joes out there.

Q.

 

[djb]

Most of those habits are pointless.

Many heater valves have a small bypass hole. That allows a small amount of coolant to circulate in the heater core, keeping the anti-corrosion properties fresh. It also allows the system to fill/bleed even when the valve is closed.

Turning off the engine early likely serves no positive purpose. It may be better to idle for long enough to cool off the hottest spots in the engine.

Turning on the air conditioning compressor occasionally is a good thing, but is less important than in the past. Before barrier hoses (introduced approximately at the time of R134a), the refrigerant oil coating the hose interior was important to reduce refrigerant diffusion through the rubber. Oil still helps seal the o-ring connections and carbon or ceramic face seals on the shaft, but those are far smaller sources of refrigerant loss.

Turning off the radio and HVAC for starting the car only helps if you have an old or very-low-tech car. Most cars have high current accessories switched off during start, either with an 'unloader' relay or through body network commands.

 

[Merkava_4]

Two things come to mind:

1. I always park on the far outskirts of a parking lot
2. I always run the on fan full blast the last few minutes before pulling into the garage

 

[ag_ghost]

or the automatics, slip to neutral, engage parking brake, then put it in park.
Kevin

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Gabe
I turn off the radio and climate control before I get out. The thinking is that it will drain the system less when I start the car - the habit has stuck with me since I started driving.

During the summer, my Grandpa will park his car with the windows cracked 1/8 inch to let the heat out.


I seem to recall that it was better to just leave the climate control on. If you turn it off, it closes off the vents so the car doesn't get any fresh air when it's sitting. It's better to have fresh air than stagnant air. And as someone else said, when you start the car, it shuts all that off anyway.

As for coasting down a long driveway, it's a little out there too. Probably mostly harmless, but if you needed your brakes for any reason, without the engine vacuum, it would take longer to stop. Unsafe operation IMHO.

 

[wirelessF]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
I typically turn of all of the accessories, radio, seat warmers, a/c, etc before turning off car... thinking that when I go to start it again there will be less load on the starting system


I do the same, just that when I start my truck on a cool quiet morning I don't get blasted with [censored] music at a loud volume or the fan blowing full blast in my face from a hot afternoon.

 

[eljefino]

I like cracking my windows on most any good weather day, summer or winter. I use the passenger and rear doors for this to even wear on the mechanisms.

If I'm running without AC and my temp approaches the electric fan threshold, and I'm about to park, I hit the AC for a few seconds to engage the fan. (Fan remains engaged for 3 min even after AC shuts off). Figure this helps lessen heat soak.

I rigged my stick shift car so I could start it in neutral without the clutch. Figure this saves wear on the thrust bearing. Also idle at lights in neutral to save the TO bearing.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I rigged my stick shift car so I could start it in neutral without the clutch. Figure this saves wear on the thrust bearing. Also idle at lights in neutral to save the TO bearing.

You can start it in gear though as well? My early formative years had me driving automatics and so I have started a couple manual cars without pressing the clutch down... Not good to be suddenly driving when you aren't expecting it!

I crack my windows all the time too, but not in winter as the green house effect is nice to have a warm car even when its cold out.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: wirelessF
Originally Posted By: Brybo86
I typically turn of all of the accessories, radio, seat warmers, a/c, etc before turning off car... thinking that when I go to start it again there will be less load on the starting system


I do the same, just that when I start my truck on a cool quiet morning I don't get blasted with [censored] music at a loud volume or the fan blowing full blast in my face from a hot afternoon.

+1 I hate starting a car up and immediately having the stereo come blaring on (startling the heck out of me), the AC blasting in my face, the windshield wipers going, etc. Sensory overload! I like everything to be peaceful and quiet when starting the car. I will then turn on each appliance myself as needed.

However I do sometimes leave the stereo and/or AC on when turning the car off, if I just need to make a quick errand and will be back in the car in 5 minutes or less. I already know they're on and I won't be in for a surprise when I turn the car back on. But if I'm parking the car for at least an hour, everything gets turned off.

 

[shadow7]

If I see the next light is red, I will slow down and coast as much as possible. Sometimes, I don't have to accelerate from 0, and I will get better gas mileage and save on brake and transmission wear.

 

[Garak]

I'm another for turning everything off or down to reasonable levels before shutting down.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Due to the design of our fleet vans I am a stickler for setting the emergency brake and turning off the climate control as I leave a vehicle. Our equipment has interlocks that will not allow stationary operation without those steps first.

These days on any modern car it means little. I'm sure there was a time long ago when it mattered...

 

[TrevorS]

To the OP, thanks for starting an original and interesting thread!

I do a few of the things I've read here.

I do not turn the steering wheel at a standstill. I learnt to drive without power steering and it is a habit that has remained since then.

 

[HM12460]

I wash my truck every Saturday.