Teaching Kids to Drive – What they don’t learn at a Driving School

Indicating before changing lanes, checking blind spots and nailing a three-point turn are all requirements to obtain a driver’s licence. While it’s great to outsource the practical lessons to teach your kids how to drive (because, let’s face it, teenagers are not known for taking instructions well from their parents) there are some lessons that just aren’t taught by a trainer but are essential for driving in the real world.

As part of their driving training, be sure to teach your kids the following:

• How to change a tyre (or at least have the roadside assistance number on speed dial!). Changing a tyre in a remote area may be quicker than waiting for roadside assistance to show up.
• Keep a toolbox of essentials in the boot of the car, not only for car difficulties, but also for general safety. A torch, old rag, first aid kit, old blanket, jumper leads and some disposable gloves are a great start.
• Keep a spare mobile phone charger in their car in case of emergencies.
• How to check tyre pressure and refill air.
• How to refill petrol and the grade of petrol that is suited to their car.
• Help them to think about what they would do if they broke down in heavy traffic or in an isolated area. Imagining such a scenario in advance and having a rough idea of what to do will help keep them calm if they find themselves in this situation.
• Reinforce the importance of not using their mobile phone in the car without a hands-free kit.
• General maintenance of their car such as:
• Checking fluid levels
• Changing wiper blades
• Keeping the car manual in the glove box or boot for easy reference if needed
• Ensuring they have the car regularly serviced
• Check the condition of the spare tyre in the boot

Giving your kids a great start to their driving career with these tips will also help you rest easy knowing that they’re safe and well prepared.

High fuel consumption and loss of power in your diesel engine? You need to read this!!

The Direct Injection Engine was considered to be the saviour of diesel, and there has been a growing market for Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel vehicles. These vehicles are perhaps the most interesting in their creation, as they attempt to get the benefits of a gasoline engine, including fuel efficiency and engine power, without sacrificing the low cost fuel and environmental importance of diesel. The TDI is important to car makers as it offers them the chance to produce a car which does not lack for performance power. However, as with any other environmental technology, there are many pros and cons to both producing and using TDI diesel vehicles.

One issue that has become common is a loss of power and increased fuel consumption, which can unfortunately start at very low mileage. This lack of power is caused by the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system which is used to reduce exhaust emissions. 

As the name suggests it recirculates exhaust gas by diverting it back through the intake system and this is where the problem starts. The dirty air from the exhaust quickly builds up in the intake system and inlet manifold, this in turn restricts air flow into the engine which has the same effect as lifting your foot off the accelerator. In some makes like Mitsubishi the vacuum port for the turbo waste gate can also get blocked making the turbo inefficient, the end result in both cases is a lack of power and high fuel consumption.

Look at the carbon build up in this intake manifold!

The only way to stop this problem from occurring is to have the intake system regularly cleaned. This needs to be done every 20,000km from brand new to stop the build up from occurring, some makes like Mitsubishi need the intake system to be cleaned every 10,000km. Failure to do this will not only result in loss of power and high fuel consumption it will also result in a very expensive repair job. The only way to clean out a badly contaminated intake system is to remove the intake manifold and scrape out the carbon build up by hand. In some extreme cases the inlet manifold will need to be replaced.

What it should look like!!

 Cooper Automotive recommend having the intake system in your direct injection vehicle cleaned out every 20,000km to avoid expensive repairs, call your nearest Cooper Automotive service centre before it’s too late!