What are common problems with cars on long trips and how to handle them?

Before going on a long trip, drivers often take their cars to service and maintenance centers. After the trip, vehicle maintenance and care are equally important, especially for vehicles that have problems on the road.

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Maintain and take care of your car after the trip. Photo: Trung Duong

Car suddenly has problem, what to do?

When encountering minor problems such as: heavy steering wheel, tire pressure warning light... the first thing the driver needs to do is reduce speed, stop the car to check, and come up with a temporary solution.

Abnormal vehicle vibration is a common phenomenon during long trips, due to tire errors (too worn or hard due to high pressure), poor quality gasoline, more complicated is the ignition system, fuel injection problems, or worn clutch also causes the vehicle to jerk when starting.

In severe cases, involving brakes, engines... the driver needs to stay calm, consider the situation, and be decisive in making decisions based on each type of emergency.

A typical example is the case of a car losing its brakes. Mr. VTQuang, an auto maintenance technician at a garage in District 7 (HCMC), shared: “There are many reasons why a car suddenly loses its brakes. The first thing the driver needs to do is release the accelerator and slow down. If the brakes are soft and pressed to the floor, the cause of the brake failure may be a broken pipe, leading to a loss of oil.

But if the brake pedal is hard, the brake system is clogged hydraulic lines, or the brakes are locked. As a temporary solution, the driver should continuously brake, activate the ABS anti-lock braking function (most new cars are equipped), then combine with the handbrake rhythmically, reduce speed.

In this case, absolutely do not turn off the engine, it will cause the power steering system to not work, the steering wheel will be heavy, may lock and lose control. In case of force majeure, after decelerating, the driver must find soft, less damaged obstacles... for the car to crash into.

In case of smelling burning smell in the car, the driver must stop the car immediately and check everything. If not sure, the car owner should ask the nearest car maintenance center to tow the car for inspection.

In case the engine overheats abnormally, the warning light on the dashboard is on, the driver should stop the car, open the hood to check the pipe system and radiator, and can use clean water to add when there is a problem of low coolant. Oil loss also leads to the engine overheat, the driver can observe through the engine oil pressure gauge.

After a long trip, you should maintain and wash your car.

If there are no problems or issues during the trip, many drivers believe that it is not necessary to maintain the car. "But to prolong the life of the car's parts and keep the car new, especially super cars, drivers should take the car to the garage to check and wash the car after each long trip for a few days" - Mr. Quang said.

Parts such as: tires, hoses and belts, air filters, wipers, water and coolant checks, batteries, air conditioning systems, etc. are likely to have problems during the trip or become deficient after a long trip and need to be checked. These small parts are equally important in the smooth operation of the vehicle.

After long trips through muddy terrains such as ditches, the exterior of the car is covered with a thick layer of dirt, even dried mud. If using the cleaning method at a regular car wash, the surface of the car's exterior paint will appear many small scratches.

Sharing this issue, Mr. Pham Tuan, in the Detailing field, said: "In this case, you should not use pressure nozzles to spray directly on the car, causing the mud to rub against the paint, causing unnecessary scratches.

Spray a layer of soap on the car while it is still dry, soak the car for about 3-5 minutes in a cool environment. Rinse the mud and dust with a professional water gun away from the car, then continue spraying soap, soak a second time for 3-5 minutes.

Take advantage of the time to soak the car to clean the dust and sand stuck inside the wheel cage, spray from the middle of the cage in 2 directions, to let the sand and dirt flow out. For the wheel rim, we should spray a specialized cleaning solution, soak it for about 3-5 minutes, then rinse with clean water, then wash it again with soap.

If the vehicle has engine or brake system problems, the owner should take the vehicle to an authorized garage for safety inspection.

According to TTO