2023 National Car Care Month: How Proper Car Care Helps Protect the Environment

Vehicles powered by internal combustion engines are still the most practical, convenient, and accessible form of transportation. However, as the world continues to grapple with more frequent heat waves, stronger hurricanes, and longer fire seasons, ignoring how much your vehicle contributes to climate change becomes more and more difficult each day.

Cars’ Environmental and Human Impact

Every gallon of gas that a vehicle uses emits approximately 24 pounds of greenhouse gases. The vehicle’s internal combustion engine emits nineteen pounds, while the rest comes from getting the gas out of the ground and into the fuel pump. As a result, a typical passenger vehicle in the US contributes around 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. That’s heavier than three Jeep Grand Cherokees. Your vehicle also produces other harmful byproducts, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and lead.

These pollutants can cause a wide range of illnesses. The immediate effects range from simple discomforts such as irritated eyes, skin, nose, and throat to acute symptoms such as coughing, breathing difficulty, and chest tightness. Pollution also causes severe short-term problems like pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, and heart and lung problems.

Long-term exposure to these pollutants can worsen the above illnesses, resulting in reproductive, neurological, and respiratory diseases, which can lead to a variety of cancers and, in rare cases, death.

Luckily, vehicle owners can lessen their environmental impact by simply maintaining their vehicles and implementing certain practices.

Why Vehicle Maintenance Is Important

When it comes to reducing your vehicle’s emissions, making your engine as efficient as possible is a must. The amount of greenhouse gases that your vehicle produces is directly proportional to how much fuel it consumes. This is why automobile manufacturers have engineered the combustion process to make engines as fuel efficient as possible. The engine uses precise amounts of air, fuel, and pressure in every cylinder stroke to create the maximum amount of power while using the least amount of fuel. If the engine has issues that can prevent the ideal mix from being achieved, then it can release more harmful gases and particulates.

When parts such as engine sensors, air filters, spark plugs, and catalytic converters develop issues, your vehicle will show symptoms like reduced power, increased fuel consumption, and possibly dark smoke coming out from your exhaust. These are all telltale signs that your vehicle is running inefficiently and it’s probably releasing more harmful pollutants.

Since 1990, the federal government has regulated emissions by enacting the Federal Clean Air Act, which issued emissions standards for all major sources of pollution. This is why over 30 states have laws that require vehicles to pass emissions testing before they can be registered. This is one way for states to keep their community’s air quality at a healthy level.

Green Vehicle Practices

Aside from keeping your vehicle within emissions standards, you should also implement these practices so that your vehicle can contribute less harmful byproducts:

Conservative Driving Techniques

You can save tremendous amounts of fuel by being gentle with the gas. Accelerating using the least amount of revs possible helps preserve fuel. You should also shift to the highest possible gear when cruising on the highway.

Drive wisely and minimize unnecessary miles by consolidating errands, getting good directions, and avoiding excessive idling.

Regular Oil Changes

Using the proper engine oil for your car will increase gas mileage by 1 to 2%. Oil and filters should be replaced every 5,000 to 7,000 miles, depending on your vehicle and engine oil.

Proper Oil, Tire, and Battery Disposal

When you change your vehicle’s oil, please be sure to properly dispose of the old oil. Many auto repair and parts outlets will accept leftover oil and filters. Most oil can be recycled and used as combustible fuel for power plants. It can also be refined and turned back into brand-new engine oil. You can also contact your local government to find out where you can recycle spent oil.

Tires should also be properly disposed of because the rubber can still be used for other products. While batteries contain acid and lead, which can poison water sources, 95% of a car battery can still be recycled. The acid it contains can also be turned into chemicals to be used for laundry detergent, glass, and more.

Minding Your Vehicle’s Refrigerants

Since the ’90s, the world has been recovering from the ozone layer’s depletion by using less harmful refrigerants such as R-134a. While these new refrigerants are now widely used, older vehicles might still have air-conditioning systems that use old refrigerants that are severely harmful to the environment. People with older vehicles that use old R-12 refrigerants are encouraged to have their vehicles retrofitted with a new air-conditioning system that uses R-134a. 

Regularly Checking Tire Pressure

Tires that aren’t adequately inflated cause increased rolling resistance and increased engine load. Remember, tires lose pressure as a result of changes in temperatures that occur throughout the year. Check your tires’ pressure, including the backup tire, at least once a month.

Reducing Unnecessary Cargo

While it’s convenient to have a car that can hold a lot of cargo, carrying the extra weight around all the time will increase your car’s fuel consumption. You should try to unload your vehicle if you aren’t transporting the cargo to another destination.

Rebuilding Engines Instead of Buying New Ones

A vehicle’s engine can get severely damaged when it overheats, misfires, or knocks. Damaged engines are often replaced instead of repaired because the repair process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, although it’s more cost-effective. However, rebuilding an engine is far greener than buying a new engine.

A rebuilt engine is remanufactured by highly experienced machinists using cutting-edge tools and materials following precise standards. The engine is fully disassembled and then skilled technicians machine, clean, and reassemble every component and surface. Some critical components are also replaced.

Rebuilding an engine is greener because it saves the energy and resources needed to produce a new engine. It also eliminates the energy needed to recycle the old engine. Rebuilt engines also tend to outperform new engines in terms of fuel economy and even emit less emissions.

All of these recommendations might seem like a lot to do, but until greener electric vehicles become the norm, we still have to be aware of our current vehicles’ negative environmental impact. For now, implementing these practices can still make a difference.