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Category: Mechanical

Find out how your car works – in plain English. We reveal all those tricky technical things that might have baffled you about your car

airbag
Main feature, Mechanical

My daughter rear ended another car at about 60mph on a motorway but her airbag didn’t go off. Should we be concerned?

We’ve had a few questions about airbags not going off. It’s worth repeating that airbags aren’t designed to inflate in every type of crash. How do airbags go off? Airbags…

By James Foxall2nd February 202331st January 2023
mild hybrid
Mechanical

I’m currently researching new cars. What’s the difference between mild and micro hybrid?

There are many relatively recent terms that describe the different types of electrification applied to cars. Two of the more confusing are mild hybrid and micro hybrid. What is hybrid?…

By James Foxall26th January 202331st January 2023
used car clutch
Mechanical, Opinion

Why do we get so many questions about used car clutch problems?

One of the most common questions we get is about used car clutches. The questions from readers usually go something like this. “I’ve bought a used car and driving home…

By James Foxall29th September 20227th December 2022
car bonnet
Mechanical

How do I open my car bonnet?

All cars are different so it’s hardly surprising that people get confused with how to open their car bonnet. After all, there aren’t many openings on a car that need…

By James Foxall26th September 20227th December 2022
shorten battery life
Mechanical

Does charging extra electrical accessories like sat navs shorten battery life?

One of the weak links of a regular combustion engine car is the battery. These days we all want more electronic equipment. Whether that’s sat navs, charging mobile phones or…

By James Foxall30th August 202225th October 2022
speedometer accuracy
Mechanical

I was nicked for speeding recently. How accurate is my speedometer?

Our reader was caught going at 34mph in a 30 zone. He thought he was safe because his car’s speedometer was showing 35mph and he believed there was a tolerance…

By James Foxall16th August 20226th October 2022
lpg
Mechanical

Why does no one talk about LPG as a fuel? It’s clean and cheap. Why hasn’t it caught on?

Liquefied Petroleum Gas is a type of fuel that can be used instead of petrol. It’s a versatile, low-carbon fuel that was once simply burnt off because it’s a by-product…

By James Foxall7th July 20222nd September 2022
ait conditioning evaporator
Mechanical

What is an air conditioning evaporator? My garage says my car needs a new one

We take air conditioning for granted but it’s far from simple. The evaporator is a vital part if your system is going to work properly. Read on to find out…

By James Foxall9th June 202223rd August 2022
hard driving
Mechanical

I recently bought a new petrol car and a friend then drove it very aggressively. Will hard driving damage an engine?

Our reader adds that ‘his friend’ drove the car at up to 70mph and floored the accelerator to ‘test its top speed’. When he stopped, there was a smell of…

By James Foxall10th May 202228th June 2022
volkswagen touran overheats
Mechanical

My Volkswagen Touran overheats when it goes past 60mph. Any idea what the problem might be?

Our reader’s VW Touran is the 1.6TDI model and it appears to overheat on motorways when he exceeds 60mph for any length of time. Garages have given up trying to…

By James Foxall26th April 202210th June 2022

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