The Most Easily Damaged Parts of a Car and How to Fix Them
In addition to light bulbs, there are many exterior parts of a car that can fail suddenly or fail more quickly than other parts.
Tires and Rims
Careless driving situations or even accidental damage can not only damage tires, but also rims – something many people may not even be aware of.
Strong shocks when going over potholes at high speed, or carelessly climbing the sidewalk, or tires scraping the curb, etc. can all cause the tire to tear or explode due to high pressure. Strong impacts on the wheel can also distort the rim (to a certain extent that is difficult to observe clearly with the naked eye), causing the vehicle to vibrate at a certain speed range.
Advice:
Every 10,000km or so, tires need to be rotated, checked, and balanced. Depending on the conditions of use and storage, tires wear out before or after the rubber has degraded.
If the vehicle is used for about 20,000 - 25,000km/year (about 40 - 50km/day), the tire tread will usually wear out before the rubber layer is degraded and vice versa if the vehicle is used very little (less than 10,000km/year), the tire tread may still be high but the rubber has degraded. In case the tire tread is still good, the tire still needs to be replaced if it exceeds 6 years of use, because the aging rubber layer can increase the risk of tire explosion when braking suddenly or cornering at high speed.
Light bulb
With the advancement of science and technology, the lighting on cars today is quite diverse, from halogen, xenon, HID (high intensity discharge) and LED (light emitting diode). Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, and different lifespans.
The lifespan of a halogen lamp is about 450 - 1,000 hours of lighting under normal driving conditions (so if you travel 30 minutes every day after work to get home, your bulb can last about 5 years). Other lamps such as xenon, HID have a lifespan that can be twice that of a halogen lamp and LED lamps have an even longer lifespan.
However, if there is a strong shock or collision, the bulb may fail faster, or even suddenly. Another reason that can reduce the life of a light bulb is an unstable power source, possibly because the battery voltage often exceeds the voltage limit of the bulb.
Advice:
A burnt out driver's side bulb is more dangerous than a burnt out passenger side bulb because it's harder for the oncoming vehicle to see you, so if the driver's side bulb burns out, it's best to switch to the other bulb if there's no spare or it can't be replaced.
Be very careful when driving at night, even if your car has a very good lighting system, especially in places that are out of sight. Be careful of black spots on the road ahead, because it is very likely a hole that the lights cannot sweep down from a distance. Depending on the type, the cost of lighting bulbs varies, but it is only up to a few hundred thousand - a cost that makes you not too worried about buying a spare bulb when needed.
Wiper
If the car is often exposed to harsh sunlight, the wiper blades can be damaged and lose their function after only about 2 years of use. The obvious signs of a damaged wiper blade are that the water is not wiped away, the wiper is stuck, and makes noise when moving on the windshield.
Not only that, the plastic ring lining the inside of the wiper system's rotating mechanism often has to work in a compressed state in one direction (to press the wiper down onto the glass with the support of the spring), so it wears unevenly. After a period of use, the ring wears too much, causing the wiper shaft to loosen, the pressure is not enough, causing the center of the wiper blade to not be able to fully contact the glass.
Advice:
Do not attempt to turn on the wipers when the glass is dry. In such conditions, there will be a lot of friction between the wiper blade and the windshield, not only making it difficult for the motor and wiper mechanism but also increasing the risk of scratching the windshield.
Window glass gasket
Normally, if well maintained (for example, the car is often kept in a covered garage, used in favorable, cool weather conditions), the rubber windshield and window seals can also be very durable, still very good after 7-10 years. However, the conditions of use or storage of the car are not always ideal as desired.
The hot and humid tropical climate like the North of our country is also the number one enemy that causes the rubber parts of the car's exterior to deteriorate very quickly, become hard and cracked, causing noise because the door glass is no longer tight, and damaged gaskets also reduce the ability to block noise, making the car's cabin even noisier.
Advice:
When the window glass is heavily covered with dirt, it is necessary to limit the movement of the glass up/down. Even if the window seal is still new, the accumulated dust or mud will not be able to be completely wiped off and will get inside, causing the window glass to be scratched, stuck, or the dirt will cause the rubber seal to quickly deteriorate.
Car body paint
The deterioration of the car's paint is entirely due to human influence, even without any collision. When a car is new, the paint is shiny like a mirror, but after only about a year of use, the paint of many cars can be damaged by millions of tiny scratches. The cause of this is due to improper car washing techniques or using a towel to wipe the car when the car's body is very dirty. At that time, dirt and sand will stick to the towel and rub against the car's body, scratching the paint.
Advice:
Do not use a towel to wipe the car when the car body is dirty, but only wipe it after washing with the purpose of drying the water. When washing the car, use a high-pressure water gun to thoroughly spray the dirt on the car body before rinsing with specialized chemicals. Dirtier areas of the car body (such as side moldings, fenders, front and rear bumpers, etc.) should be washed separately.
