Liquid engineering is a major contributor to road safety – and can help avoid massive repair bills due to owners skipping basic maintenance, the service manager at a top island car dealer said. Terry Heilbron, of Auto Solutions, warned owners had to keep an eye on the levels of basic liquids like oil, coolant, transmission and brake fluid and windscreen washer fluid in between regular service visits.

He added: “All these kind of things should be checked weekly, but a lot of people don’t do that, unfortunately.

“They get their cars serviced and think everything is going to be okay.  But they should check things like oil, coolant and washer fluid. It’s all about making sure the car is safe to be on the road.”

Mr Heilbron said if a car ran out of oil or transmission fluid, the engine or transmission could seize up completely.

A lack of brake fluid could lead to a catastrophic failure of the system – and potentially deadly consequences.

Mr Heilbron said: “Cars that aren’t serviced regularly, the oil turns into gunge – instead of being free-running and that can cause huge damage.

“We have four cars at the moment that are sludged up, and that will be a minimum of $2500 in repair bills each.

“That’s just through a lack of maintenance – it’s really important for people to understand the importance of regular maintenance.”

He told car owners: “It’s really important to keep on top of your car, to get it serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and to get the oil and oil filter changed on a regular basis.”

Mr Heilbron said a failure to keep radiator coolant topped up could also cause major damage.

He explained the circulation of water and coolant kept the engine at the correct temperature and compared it to a kettle, which is fine when there is hot water inside, but if it is allowed to boil dry the heat would burn through the bottom and possibly cause the kettle to explode.

Mr Heilbron said: “If the coolant is allowed to get low or if there is a leak in the system where water runs out, and the engine gets too hot, the engine could seize up.”

He added: “People keep their cars longer in Bermuda than in many places, so it’s

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1. Ignoring the Parking Brake

Even if you’re parked on a level surface, there’s really no reason not to use the parking brake. Not engaging the parking brake puts the entire weight of your vehicle on a little piece of metal in the transmission called the parking pawl. It’s only about as big as your finger, so it can wear out or break eventually from holding all that weight. Using the parking brake evens the load, helping delicate transmission components last longer.

2. Keeping the Gas Tank Low

Lots of us have been in a situation where putting $10 in the gas tank is the best we can do at the time. What you might not know is that ponying up a little extra could help to prevent damaging a car’s fuel system. Many fuel pumps keep cool by staying submerged in the fuel in the tank, so if you’re regularly running at a quarter full or less, you risk speeding up the need for a fuel pump replacement. Paying a little more at the gas station might sting, but it won’t hurt nearly as much as needing a new fuel pump.

3. Suddenly Shifting From Reverse to Drive

Picture this: you’re backing out of a parking space. The coast is clear, so you flick the shifter and start moving forward. Sound familiar? This might not seem so bad in the moment, but over time sudden direction changes like this can really damage your drivetrain. Instead, come to a complete stop before switching. It only adds a second of time and will save you from future engine, transmission, or axle damage.

4. Revving Before the Engine Is Warm

Letting your car sit for a minute or two right after it starts is a good idea. It helps distribute oil throughout the engine and gets the engine block and engine oil up to temperature. Revving the engine won’t speed up the process. In fact, that could cause easily avoided damage. Cold revving causes abrupt temperature changes that create stress between the engine’s tightfitting components. Simply give it 60 seconds before you get on the road, and everything will have warmed up for reliable performance.

5. Flooring It When You Don’t Need To

Every car enthusiast feels the temptation for a full-throttle blast every once in a while. A problem with that is that you usually need to mash on the brakes to slow back down especially in Bermuda. Neither is good for your car. Hard acceleration burns a ton of fuel and places heavy load on drivetrain components. Full-force stops cause rapid wear to the brake pads and rotors. Resist the urge to drive like this. If you can’t, know that repair bills will arrive sooner than later.

6. Using the Shifter as a Hand Rest

Driving a manual transmission car can be great fun, and when you’re rowing through the gears, it feels natural to leave one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the shift lever. Don’t. Leaving your hand on the shifter puts strain on the transmission’s bushings and synchronisers, leading to premature wear. It’s best to keep both hands on the wheel anyway. You’ll help your transmission, and be able to take control if you need to make a sudden steering manoeuvre.

7. Abusing the Clutch

Lots of stick shift drivers do this one. When you’re at a stop, you keep the clutch pushed to the floor. That way you can inch forward as traffic moves, or be ready to take off when the light turns green. However, keeping the clutch in when you’re stopped causes its surfaces to scrape against each other, wearing them out and creating the possibility of failure. It also can cause damage to the release bearing, release arm, and pressure plate. Instead of riding the clutch with the shifter in gear, find neutral with the shifter and let the clutch out. When it’s time to go, put the clutch in, grab first, and drive.

8: Carrying Too Much Weight

The more a car weighs, the more stress it places on its drivetrain, suspension, and brakes, and the more fuel it consumes — it’s as simple as that. Do what you can to keep your car as light as possible. We’re not suggesting ripping out the air conditioning or sound system, but clean out any unnecessary junk. While a few pounds of weight removed might only give you an extra mile on a tank of gas, it can really make a difference in the long run. Make sure your car is stocked with the essentials you need on a daily basis and store the rest somewhere else.

9. Neglecting Warning Signs

When something’s going wrong with your car, chances are it will try to tell you. Any strange vibrations, intermittent squeaks, occasional knocks, or other unusual symptoms should be inspected right away. You might not feel any problems but the longer you wait, the more trouble you could be in if a part suddenly fails and you’re left stranded on the side of the road.

Courtesy of Popular Mechanics

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Bermuda Motors has noticed that more and more Bermudians are purchasing electric vehicles, as they presently have between 20 and 30 units on the roads – well above their projected sales.
“We thought it might be slow moving but obviously it’s taken off, word gets around,” Mr Winsby said as we drove around the city.
“We’ve also got the electric Kia Soul, which is selling big, we’ve got the 2 Series BMW Active Tourer which is a plug-in hybrid electric, the Kia Niro which is a hybrid and we’ve also got the Toyota Prius and the Lexus.
“A lot of people are either going after pure electric or the hybrids.”
So what is the difference between pure electric and hybrid?
Hybrid basically means two power sources, so there is a gasoline engine and electric. With most hybrids they are parallel hybrid, so you can use the gasoline to operate the generator to charge the battery to give it power to drive the car.
The i3 just uses electric. With the Active Tourer you actually get the “best of both worlds”. Flipping a switch between gasoline power, or electric power. The difference is that the front wheels are driven by the gasoline engine, and the rear wheels use an electric drive.
For Bermuda, these electric vehicles mean there are less carbon emissions which is great for the environment and sustaining our little island.
You also won’t have to worry about a regular car service, not passing due to rust at TCD, or weekly trips to the gas station for an expensive fill up.
“In my opinion, Bermuda is ideal for electric vehicles,” Mr Winsby said. “You’ve got a 35km speed limit and you can get from point A to point B quite comfortably.”
The fully customizable BMW i3 is available starting at $50,000. Contact Bermuda Motors to arrange your test drive today.

This article originally appeared in the RG’s green pages on January 30. Green pages is a monthly publication, look out for our next issue on February 27.

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