Reckless driving habits themselves can ruin your truck or car, and that's true even if your bad driving doesn't cause a crash. Read the advice from our experienced auto repair team below.

Don't Drive on Empty

There are 3 main reasons to avoid driving on low fuel levels, and only one involves the risk of walking ten blocks holding a gas can. One of the other reasons is that sediment in gas or diesel drops to the bottom of your fuel tank, so when the gas is almost gone your engine has to push the grit through the fuel lines. This causes buildup and can also make your car work harder than usual. Furthermore, gas in the tank actually helps cool the part that pumps fuel, making it more efficient. If you have too little, your fuel pump could get hot and wear out easily.

Don't Drive Aggressively

You're not Vin Diesel from “Fast and Furious.” Of course this bad habit is unsafe. But beyond that, slamming the gas pedal at lights and slamming on the brakes is taxing on your transmission, engine and brakes. It's easy to understand why you want to show off a fast auto, but true car lovers know that trying to show off too much will be destructive down the road.

Don't Push the Speed Limit

It can be a thrill to race down the interstate, passing all the slower cars and mastering the curves as you weave through the lanes and around the curves. But realize that driving too fast can be bad for your engine. Our engine experts at Christian Brothers in Fort Mill, SC advise that most autos perform best at forty to sixty miles per hour. If you drive at higher speeds, you will use more gas per mile driven and your transmission will be pushed to the max. Also, operating at top capacity means extra stress on all the small moving parts of your engine, and that can cause it to wear out more quickly. In the end, driving at the limit is a great way to show off that you're a proud car owner.

Don't Accelerate Slowly

Primarily to save gas, know that It's silly accelerate more slowly than traffic. Some new drivers have been taught not to “jackrabbit” at start, and that's usually smart. But accelerating too slowly stops your car from normal driving conditions and can make the transmission and engine work extra hard. You should probably drive with traffic.

Don't Shift Like a Novice

It can be tricky to handle the transmission properly. We'll just cover some of the ways. Don't ever move to park or reverse while your car is moving. Next, don't go into park and run off without using the E brake. If it so happens that you do, your whole car will rest against the transmission itself. For manual shifters, be careful to remove your foot from the clutch when you aren't shifting. These simple tricks could save you many hundreds of dollars.

Don't Sit and Idle or Rev

We have talked about engine idling already, and the truth is that you should avoid idling for more than about sixty seconds. It's also not great to rev your engine while stopped, especially if the engine isn't warm. When you do, the engine will not become lubricated safely and the catalytic convertor won't function properly. Furthermore, subjecting all the tiny parts of your engine to extreme shifts from cold to hot can mean widespread damage.