13 car problems you’ll regret ignoring

No one wants to admit that their car needs a service because no one wants to deal with a potentially hefty bill. But ignoring your car problems is a decision you’ll soon regret. Those leaks, screeches, and dashboard notification lights each indicate an issue that can be serious, dangerous, and costly if you pretend it’s just not there. By dealing with these problems when they first rear their ugly heads, you can avoid an expensive repair necessary to keep your car running.

We’ve all been there: The dreaded “check engine” light just flicked on and you fear a massive bill from your mechanic is in your immediate future. We’re sorry to break the news to you, but fear isn’t a good reason to put off a trip to your mechanic. “If your ‘check engine’ light turns on, you should have your car tested as soon as possible because it’s a signal that something is wrong,” explains Tony Arevalo from carsurance.net. He knows this is a bitter pill to swallow and that “people often postpone going to the mechanic precisely because the car is still running,” but doing so may cause major damage to your vehicle. Depending on what type of car you have, you might actually be in luck.

Here’s one car issue that’s probably not at the top of your car maintenance checklist, but that’s a mistake. As Tobias Rawcliffe from Number1Plates.com points out, “having broken or unreadable registration plates can make you worthy of a large on-the-spot fine.” After all, the plates are the legal identifier for your vehicle, and if you’re obscuring them or otherwise making it difficult for authorities to read them, you could get pulled over and ticketed. Luckily, replacing your car’s license plate is a cinch. Just head into your local DMV and pay the small fee for a new plate.

You might think you know your car and just how long it will run on just how little fuel, but you shouldn’t test this theory—and not just because you might get stuck. Auto professionals and mechanics alike agree that you should not be driving on less than a quarter tank of fuel. Laura Gonzalez, Marketing Manager for Volkswagen, says that this is because “the fuel pump uses petrol as not only a lubricant but also as a method to keep it cool. If you run your car to the point that it’s almost completely out of fuel, you can damage the fuel pump if it sucks in air, causing it to heat up and burn out.” That’s a repair you desperately want to avoid since it’s labour intensive and costly.

Faulty or broken exterior car lights can impair your vision or the vision of other drivers, says Gonzalez. Having exterior lights not functioning properly, or out completely, could earn you a costly ticket from a police officer on patrol at night. This repair is one of the least expensive, so there’s no reason to ignore this one. Replacing non-headlight bulbs is actually one of the car problems you can easily fix yourself.

You may think that you can course-correct your car when your tyres are pulling you to the left or right as you drive, but this is a risky prospect. First, it makes it harder for you to stay safe on the road. Second, says Cindy Price, Import Service Manager at Ricart Automotive, your tyres will suffer. The crazy thing is, you may not even realise you have an alignment problem right away since the first sign of a problem isn’t actually your car pulling one way or the other. “What typically happens first is uneven tyre wear, and by then it is too late—you need new tyres,” Price explains. “Not checking your alignment on a regular basis can end up being very costly in the long run and result in needing new tires more frequently than normal.”

When it comes to being low on oil and seeing that oil service light pop up on your dashboard, you likely have a little bit of driving time left before you have a problem. But, Gonzalez says, “ignoring your low oil situation and the oil service light for too long will cause catastrophic failure to your engine.” Changing your oil at the recommended intervals will help extend the life of your engine, as well as help you avoid expensive visits to the dealer’s service centre.

It’s not just an aesthetic issue. “Your windscreen provides up to 30 per cent of your vehicle’s structural strength, meaning any chips or cracks can weaken your windscreen, compromising your safety in a crash or rollover situation,” says Ed Sprigler, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Safelite AutoGlass. Another reason you shouldn’t ignore chipped windscreen glass? “Windscreens host an important yet delicate camera called ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) that control some of our favourite safety features, such as blind-spot monitoring, lane assist, and auto-braking,” Sprigler explains.

“The coolant warning light is likely telling you that you have a coolant leak,” says Gonzalez. “Ignoring it could cause your car to overheat your engine and destroy it if the coolant drops too low.” Go in to get it checked out, and whatever you do, don’t use water in place of coolant.

“When it comes to auto repair, many people believe that if you ignore a car problem, it will go away, including a slow start,” says Matt Allen, the host of Arizona’s Bumper to Bumper Radio and owner of Virginia Auto Service and Import Car Specialists in Phoenix. This is not the case… at all. So, what is a slow start, exactly, and why is it such a problem? “[A slow start is when] you go to start your car and it struggles to turn over for a minute, but then it does,” Allen explains. “This could be a sign of a dead battery or other starter/alternator problems, and unfortunately, this problem will only continue until one day the car won’t start.” Take your car to a trusted mechanic to determine the strength of your battery.