Buying Vehicles of Every Kind

Small Parts That Are Easy to Overlook When Your Vehicle is Acting Up

18 June 2017

Avery Hawkins

If your vehicle is acting up in any way, you might immediately assume that the engine is failing, that it needs a new battery, that the tyres have gone bad or that the car needs another such obvious fix. However, keep in mind that there are dozens and dozens of parts under the hood of your car; when any one of them goes bad, the car can sputter, stall, refuse to start, be difficult to control or otherwise fail to run properly. Before you assume that your car needs major repairs, note a few of those small and simple parts that could be failing and which might need replacing instead:

Solenoid

When you only hear a clicking as you try to turn the car's engine over, you may assume that the battery is dead. This is certainly a possibility, but before you replace it, note that the problem may be a solenoid. This is a coil that connects electrical parts to an electrical current. The starter, brakes, and other electrical parts are connected by a solenoid, so if any electrical part starts to fail before your car stalls and then doesn't start, this often means the solenoid needs changing and not the battery.

Oxygen boot

Your car's engine needs fuel and oxygen to create combustion; the fuel obviously comes from the fuel tank, but oxygen is pulled from the area around the car. This oxygen travels through what is called an oxygen boot. This boot is actually a long tube or hose that is connected to the engine; as this boot is typically made of rubber, it's prone to eventual cracking, so that oxygen leaks out and not enough is delivered to the engine to maintain healthy combustion. If your engine sputters and stalls or you notice it's using more fuel to run, it's good to check this boot for damage.

Shaking and shimmying

If the brake pedal and steering wheel are both shaking or vibrating, the tyres may need an alignment or balancing, or one tyre may be flat and need replacing. However, the brake pads may also be overheating; this often happens when the callipers are not releasing properly, holding the brake pads against the rotors. In turn, they easily grind down and overheat. When the brake pads overheat, they don't grip the tyres evenly, and this causes vibrations. If you've checked the tyres for a needed alignment and balancing, you can check the brake pads and callipers for damage and have them replaced as needed.

Contact local mechanics​ for more information and assistance. 

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