“COMMON CAR TROUBLES AS PERCEIVED BY PROFESSIONAL

DRIVERS”

Review of Related Literature

This part of the study deals with the readings and studies from journals, internet
resources, and other secondary data which are related to the nature of the problem.

Car problems come in many shapes and varieties, affecting virtually anything
from the engine to the rear bumper. The most common car maintenance issues,
however, are primarily routine in nature, and many of them are relatively simple and
inexpensive to fix (Bennett Floyd,2018)

Like people, cars sometimes experience little hiccups and need a bit of a health
check and some extra attention to get back on track. So, there’s no need to panic if
your near-new car is suddenly acting strangely. Even if your car is new, taking some
precautions will ensure you help prevent these common car problems in the future.
Common car troubles are: uneven tyre wear, starting the engine, air conditioner not
working, engine overheating, and noisy brakes (John Hughes, 2012).

Uneven tyre wear

The wear performance of a tire is its capability to reach high mileages. One
method of evaluating this wear performance is by considering the duration of tire service life, which is
the mileage after which a point on the tread appeared which shows signs of the wear.
The duration of a tire's Service life depends on the mass loss from the tread. The duration of a tire's
service life depends on the various conditions in which the tire is used and that are the type of driver
and their area of working (Jyoti Vimal,2012).

According to Xiao-Xia Wen et. al, 2016 that in order to decrease the running
wheels uneven wear, the finite element model of “running wheels PC track beam” of
monorail vehicles is established. The monorail vehicle kinetic model is established on
the basis of Newton Euler equation, and the boundary input parameter of the running
wheel of straddle-type monorail vehicle curve negotiating working conditions is
obtained. Based on the finite element model, it is used to analyze the longitudinal and
lateral shear and the slip velocity distribution between the wheel-track contact surfaces.

The Uneven wear evaluation index of the running wheel is proposed, and the
distribution law of the friction power density and friction power density Uneven within
contact area is obtained. In addition, when a monorail vehicle passes a track beam
whose radius is 100 meters, the normal compressive stress, longitudinal and lateral
shear of the running wheel in contact area will show clear gradient changes along the
axle of the running wheel. There is no clear regularity change for the longitudinal and
lateral slip speed along the axle of the running wheel. In accordance with the uneven
wear evaluation index, quantitative analysis is conducted for the uneven wear
phenomenon of the running wheel in the tire axle direction. Also, if the wear situation of
the running wheel is to be confirmed, it will be need to get the force parameters and
movement parameters working on the running wheel when monorail vehicles are in
operation. It was stated in the PhilStar Global Magazine that you might not realize it but
unsafe tires can cause not only complications to the other components of your vehicle
but also road accidents, including deadly ones. Regular tire maintenance is therefore
just as important as making sure your car’s gassed up for an important trip. There are
six (6)signs your uneven car tires are not safe anymore namely: difficult
steering, cracks and blisters on sidewall, bulges on the tire, flushed tread depth
indicator,and too much vibration (PhilStar,2015). The five (5) key variables of the
contact features increase with increasing vertical load, increasing rolling velocity and
increasing damping coefficient and with decreasing inflation pressure and decreasing
effective bending stiffness. The tyre wear follows the same trend when the three key
variables increase or decrease synchronously. This analysis provides a quantitative
indication of the relationship between the contact features and the tyre wear in order to
obtain guidelines for tyre manufacturers on how to achieve less tyre wear (Cheng
Wang, 2016).

Moreover, it may not be obvious when driving that your car’s tyres are unevenly worn,
but worn tyres can be dangerous due to their reduced grip on the road. A quick check
will tell you if your tyres are worn unevenly. The easiest way is to jack up your car and
inspect each tyre individually, noting whether there are any bald spots on the inside or
outside of the tyre, or whether there are any dips and dents in the tyre tread (John
Hughes, 2012).

Starting the engine

Your car either takes a long time to start, or the car simply won’t start at all.

Air conditioner not working

Your air con will switch on, but you notice it’s just blowing room-temperature air
around rather than cold air.

Engine over heating

You may notice steam or smoke coming from your bonnet, or the needle on your
engine temperature gauge may be through the roof.

Noisy brakes

You’ll know it when you hear it!

REFERENCES

Cheng Wang, et.al.(October,2016). The influence of the Contact Features on the Tyre
Wear in Steady-state Conditions.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0954407016671462

John Hughes. John Hughes. (March, 2012). Common Car Troubles their Causes and
Solutions.
https://www.johnhughes.com.au/blog/common-car-troubles-their-causes-and-solutions/

PhilStar Global Skyactiv Technology.(August,2015). 6 signs your car tires aren’t safe
anymore.
https://www.philstar.com/business/motoring/2015/08/31/1484875/6-signs-your-car-tires-
arent-safe-anymore#02cIW77IrEyW1WCQ.99

The General Insurance. Floyd,B. (March, 2018). The Most Common Car
Problems.https://www.thegeneralautoquotes.com/resources/common-car-problems-
state/

Xiao-Xia Wen1 *, Zi-Xue Du2 , Da-Yi Zhao2 , Zhou-Zhou Xu2 and Yang Zhen
(April,2016). Study on the Tire Uneven Wear Mechanism of the Running Wheel of
Monorail Vehicles. http://jase.tku.edu.tw/19-4/09-ME10512_0030.pdf
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