Four Things That Are Damaging Your Car’s Engine

Nobody wants to damage their car’s engine, but many of us unknowingly do so. Even those who know what to do to keep an engine in good shape sometimes forget to take care of their vehicles when life gets hectic.

Understanding some of the things that most frequently cause engine damage can help you keepyours in top condition. Here are five major problems to avoid.

1. Cold Starts

When you’re in a hurry, it’s tempting to start your car and immediately speed off to wherever you’re heading. These cold starts, however, can cause damage to your starter, battery, alternator, pistons, cylinder rods and more.

The oil in your engine needs time to warm up, thin out and form a protective coat over the engine’s moving parts. This is especially true when your car’s been sitting for a while, or when it’s especially cold out.

Instead of starting your engine and driving right away, let your car run for a minute or two. This gives the oil time to warm up and provide sufficient lubrication.

If you live somewhere where temperatures regularly dip below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, you may also want to invest in an engine heater that connects to your radiators.

2. Not Changing Fluids

You need to change the fluids in your car on the recommended schedule to keep your engine running correctly. These fluids include your oil, coolant, transmission fluid, clutch fluid, steering fluid, brake fluid and windshield wiper fluid.

Letting the oil sit for too long can result in the formation of oil sludge, which blocks oil from accessing the parts it needs and causes engine parts to retain excess heat. Running out of other fluids can also cause severe damage.

To avoid these problems, change your fluids at the recommended intervals. You can find the specific manufacturer’s recommendations in your owner’s manual.

In the past, the standard recommendation was to change your oil every 3000 miles, but today, most auto manufacturers say you can go at least 7500 miles. For automatic transmissions, you should change your transmission fluid about every 30,000 miles. For manual transmissions, you can go between 30,000 and 50,000 miles.

3. Frequent Redlining

On vehicles with a tachometer, the gauge that displays the engine’s revolutions per minute (rpm), there is typically a red line near the higher numbers on the gauge. This line serves to warn you that your engine cannot sustain going above that rpm.

Frequent high revving keeps your engine at a higher temperature than what is ideal for it, which can damage the engine, as well as components such as the transmission and valve train.

To avoid this problem, don’t rev your engine to the point of going above the red line unless necessary. Instead, try to build speed gradually.

4. Neglecting Maintenance

Ignoring regular and one-off maintenance is another common cause of engine damage. You should take your vehicle in for maintenance at regular intervals — your manual will include a maintenance schedule to help you keep your car in tip-top shape.

Routine maintenance schedule should include things like checking the tire pressure, replacing worn belts, cleaning your battery contacts, rotating your tires and changing your spark plugs.

You should also heed the warnings of your check engine light. While it can go off for small things, it can also indicate a serious problem. Always get your car checked as soon as you can when it goes off. Even if it does go off because of a minor issue, a small problem left unresolved can eventually snowball into a much bigger and more expensive issue.

Are any of these four common problems causing damage to your engine? While plenty of things can cause engine problems, paying attention to these four common issues can make a substantial difference in helping you keep your car healthy.

BMW’s X2 Is Fun, But Nothing New

The BMW X2 is the new luxury subcompact SUV from BMW. It’s biggest strengths are that it’s fun to drive, has a sleek exterior design and has lots of brand flashiness for the hardcore bimmer fan.

It’s a little light on room for cargo and passengers, and overall, it doesn’t have a lot to make it stand out from the competition.

Here’s what to expect from the X2:

  • Engine: Intercooled Turbo Premium Unleaded I-4 2.0 L/122
  • Horsepower: 220
  • Transmission: Automatic
  • Drivetrain: All-wheel drive
  • Miles per gallon: 21 mpg city and 31 mpghighway
  • Seats: Five
  • Base price: $40,000

Design

The X2 is meant to be a sports activity coupe, but it doesn’t really look it from the outside, especially from the front. Inside, the smaller dimensions are more noticeable. The legroom is similar to that of the X1, but there’s less headroom. It also doesn’t have a lot of cargo space — a maximum of 50.1cubic feet.

BMW made some changes when designing the X2. Its traditional kidney grille is wider and the bottom. The car’s C-pillar also has a huge BMW badge, which is atribute to the CS coupes of the 60s and 70s.

In all, the X2 features 20 BMW logos across both the exterior and interior.

Performance

Performanceand handling are some of the X2’s strong suits. It features a 2.0-literturbocharged I4 engine with 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Itfeatures an eight-speed automatic transmission.

You get front-wheel drivestandard but can also get all-wheel drive. You can also opt for the M Sport Xpackage, which has an upgraded suspension and revised shift mapping.

The X2 handles excellently around turns and on twisting back roads. If you turn onSport mode, you’ll feel a bit more weight to your steering and a bit of a quicker throttle response. The brakes feel a bit sticky, though, making commuting in traffic a bit uncomfortable.

You also get a fair amount of road noise in the cabin, because of the run-flat tires. Car and Driver measured 67 decibels at 70 mph.

Tech

TheX2 offers the typical BMW suite of iDrive infotainment features and an 8.8-inch touchscreen that you can also control using the center console. One downside of X2’s tech offerings is the fact that it only has one USB port. You can, however, upgrade to wireless charging as an option. You can also add AppleCapPlay, although that will cost you $300. There’s no option for Android Auto.

You’ll also have to pay extra if you want the driver assistance tech that comes with many other vehicles — even less expensive ones. If you want forward collision and lane departure warnings, you’ll need to add a $700 package.

Adaptive cruise control will cost you $1,000. Unfortunately, there’s no option for blind-spot monitoring.

Final Verdict

The BMW X2 is a decent subcompact crossover. There aren’t any significant drawbacks, but it’s benefits aren’t enough to make it stand out from the pack. It’s $40,000 base price isn’t bad, but you’ll likely want to add some features to get enough functionality to make it worth the purchase.

If you’re a BMW fan looking for a subcompact crossover and you prioritize performance and handling, you’ll enjoy the X2. For everyone else, it’s a solid option but not anything spectacular.

BMW Reveals 2020 M340i

BMW has teased us with the reinvention of the 3-Series for a while now, and while they did reveal the 2020 seventh generation 3-series in October, we’re more excited about the new sporty version of this car.

The car giant just revealed the M-variant for this new 3-Series – the M340i. Let’s take a closer look at what this sporty little BMW will bring to the table, and when you can expect to find it at your local dealership.

Image: BMW

Some Stiff Competition

The new M340i will be equipped with a 3.0L Turbo in-line 6 cylinder engine. It’s actually the the same engine that sat under the hood of the sixth generation M340i, but it’s undergone a makeover to pull even more horsepower and torque out of the German engineering.

This particular engine style puts it in direct competition with two other luxury cars in it’s class – the S4 by Audi and the C43 by Mercedes, which both have a 3.0L straight six engine.

The M340i falls squarely in the middle when it comes to horsepower, with it’s newly tuned engine generating 382 horsepower. For comparison, the Mercedes generates 385hp and the S4 brings up the rear with 354 hp.

All the Bells and Whistles

In addition to the engine, the M340i is equipped with all the bells and whistles. One thing that might disappoint BMW purists is the fact that the only transmission option currently available for this model is an 8-speed automatic.

It does come equipped with optional all wheel drive. While it doesn’t make up for the lack of a manual transmission, it is a pretty decent consolation prize.

Other standard equipment includes an electronically controlled differential, and M Sport brakes with a 13.7 inch rotor and 4 piston calipers in the front. Rear brakes are reduced to a single piston caliper.

The suspension in the new M340i has been upgraded too, using a new technology to minimize the amount of road bumps that you feel behind the wheel. The front shocks work to absorb rebound, while the rear shocks can alter the compression as needed.

Of course, if you want all the bells and whistles, you can choose the optional electronically controlled adaptive shocks for an additional cost.

Even the exterior has gotten an upgrade. While it doesn’t look much different than the previous generations of this model, the body shell is lighter and stiffer, decreasing the car’s overall weight by roughly 120 pounds.

BMW hasn’t released any pricing information for this new 3-Series sports car yet, but it should be making an appearance in BMW showrooms across the country in July of 2019 to be ready for the 2020 model year.

We should be seeing price information in the coming months, ahead of the car’s official release. We can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this new M340i though, just to test out that new suspension.

While the lack of a manual transmission might make some drivers balk, BMW definitely tries to make up for it with all the bells and whistles that they’ll be including as standard equipment on this sporty new model.