AutoTools blog
Long-form, practical articles on maintenance, diagnostics, tires, brakes, fuel economy and buying a used car — written for people who work with their hands.
25 Essential Automotive Tools Every Mechanic Should Have in Their Garage
If you have ever stared at a job and realized you were missing one stupid socket, this list is for you. Below are the 25 tools that cover the vast majority of home garage work, from oil changes to brakes to chasing a check-engine light, plus straight answers on what to buy first, what you can borro…
Read the article →10 Driving Habits That Are Secretly Damaging Your Car
The smell hit me before the noise did. Hot, sweet, faintly metallic, like burnt syrup on a stove. I was halfway up a ramp in a parking garage, clutch half out, creeping forward at walking pace because the car ahead of me kept stopping. When I finally parked, there was a thin line of something dark…
Read the article →12 Car Myths That Many Drivers Still Believe
The smell hit me before the sound did. Hot, sweet, faintly like burnt syrup, drifting through the vents of my wife's car while I sat in a bank drive-through on a Tuesday afternoon with the AC cranked and the engine idling. I knew that smell. I just didn't want to admit I knew it.
Read the article →What to Do If Your Car Starts Hydroplaning
The steering went light first. That's the part I remember, not the noise or the spray, but the sudden nothing in my hands, like the wheel had been disconnected from everything underneath it. I was doing maybe 55 on the interstate, second lane, wipers on high, and the car just stopped answering.
Read the article →10 Tips for Driving Safely in Heavy Rain
Heavy rain doesn't just make the road wet. It changes how your tires grip, how far you can see, and how quickly the car in front of you can stop. Get a few of these wrong and you're looking at a bent fender, a tow bill, or worse. This list covers the mistakes drivers make most often in downpours, a…
Read the article →How to Drive More Safely at Night
Night driving kills more people per mile than daytime driving, and it is not because the roads are harder. It is because most drivers never adjust anything. They run the same speed, the same following distance, and the same dirty headlights they use at noon.
Read the article →The Best Way to Memorize Racing Tracks Faster
I was three corners from the end of a lap I'd driven maybe forty times that month, and I still braked for the wrong apex. The rear stepped out, I caught it, and I sat there in the seat with my hands shaking, thinking: I know this track. I know this track. So why did my body just guess?
Read the article →Is Warming Up Your Car Before Driving Still Necessary?
Your neighbor's truck has been idling in the driveway for ten minutes. Your dad swore by it. Your owner's manual says something vague about "moderate driving." So who's right, and does letting your car sit there actually protect the engine or just burn gas for nothing?
Read the article →How to Safely Jump-Start a Dead Car Battery
A dead battery almost never picks a convenient moment. You walk out, turn the key, and get that slow, sad click instead of an engine. Ten minutes from now you can be back on the road, or you can be standing there with melted jumper cables and a fried fuse. The difference is mostly in the order you…
Read the article →Quick answers?
Prefer step-by-step? See the guides or the encyclopedia.