50 Brilliant Car Hacks That Will Keep Your Ride Running Smoothly

Over time, your car is going to pick up the odd nick, scratch and ding to its bodywork. If you want to keep it looking pristine, you don’t have to spend a fortune. In fact, you can just use nail polish in a color that matches your car. It’s not just a short-term fix, either, as it lasts for years and protects your car from rust.

Don’t have enough cup holders in your car? Or are they all full of old coffee cups that you’re probably, definitely going to clear out one of these days? Duct tape is your friend. Indeed, the roll is basically the perfect size for yet another coffee cup to fill up your car. Just pop it on the passenger seat, and maybe tape it down for good measure.

Take a close look at the air vents in your car, and you’ll probably notice they’re clogged with dust. When you turn on the air conditioning, all that dust is wafting right into your face. So, you’ll probably want to pick up a foam paintbrush to dust it out. They’re small enough to do the job, and you can even wash and reuse them.

If your seat belt is pulling and retracting too slowly, you can shave precious seconds off your journey by speeding the mechanism up. Rather than replacing the retractor entirely, however, all you need is a cheap can of furniture polish. Spray it onto your belt, then pull and release the belt a few times to let the polish lubricate the retractor.

This is probably not the most environmentally-friendly car hack, but it works in a pinch. We just wouldn’t advise doing it all the time. Yes, if you really need to keep your food warm on the journey home – say, from that late-night McDonald’s venture – then you could always pop it on the passenger seat and turn on the seat warmer.

Small dings aren’t the only thing you can fix at home – there’s also no need to pay out to get medium-sized dents removed. Indeed, as long as they’re smaller than a regular plunger, then you can use one to suck the affected area back to its normal shape.

That’s right – toothpaste isn’t just great for cleaning your teeth. Indeed, its gently abrasive properties, which help polish up your tusks, can also work wonders on car headlights. Simply clean the headlight with soap, then use a cloth to apply toothpaste and water. The results will literally dazzle you.

On those hot summer days, it’s no secret that your car practically turns into an oven. But if your A/C is busted, then there is another option to cool down your vehicle. Roll down the window on one side to let cool air in, then open and close the door on the other side several times to release the hot air.

We’ve all been caught off-guard by an unexpected freeze at one point or another. Instead of wasting time scraping the ice off your windshield, though, you could try spraying it with a mixture of vinegar and water. Indeed, the ice will start to dissolve straight away. And if you have advance warning of severe weather conditions, you can even spray it to prevent freezing.

If the weather is so severe that your door locks have frozen shut, don’t panic just yet. Indeed, simply squeeze a few drops of hand sanitizer onto your key, then insert it into the lock. Its rubbing alcohol content will melt away the ice pretty much immediately, allowing you to get into your car and out of the cold.

Many modern cars have sensors that take all the guesswork out of parking. However, there is a cheaper way to make sure you don’t damage your car – at least while parking in the garage. A simple tennis ball hanging from the ceiling can help you get lined up, and it will also let you know when to stop reversing.

If you’re tired of your car filling up with garbage, then you need some way of organizing it. A trash can would usually do the trick in your house, but that’s not exactly the most efficient use of space in a car. In steps the trusty cereal dispenser, then – small, thin and with a lid that seals shut to prevent spillages.

Waiting for your windows to de-mist can be a drag. Thankfully, there’s a way to stop that frustrating fogging altogether – although it may seem fairly unorthodox. First, grab an old pair of socks. Then, fill one with kitty litter, wrap it with the other, and place them on your dash. The litter will absorb the moisture in the air before it ever gets chance to fog up your windshield.

Preventing foggy windows isn’t the only use for socks in the car, however. Indeed, if your car gets stuck in icy conditions, you may need to give it a push. But what’s to stop you slipping everywhere too? Well, the socks. Yes, just slip them over your shoes, and they’ll give you much better traction in a pinch.

Yes, it’s not just socks that have multiple uses in your car. As well as absorbing lingering moisture, kitty litter can help if you find yourself trapped on ice. The principle is the same: scattering the litter under and around your tires will absorb the moisture on the ground, causing it to expand. Then, it should give you enough grip to get going.

Need to mount your phone on your dash for the GPS but don’t have a smartphone mount? There’s an easier, and cheaper, way to do it. Indeed, all you have to do is pass a rubber band through your air vents, pulling it out the other end with a pen. Then, slide your phone through the two loops you’ve created, and it’ll hold in place.

Ideally, you should get yourself to a trained mechanic or service station as quickly as possible if your car’s leaking gas. But few of us actually notice holes in our tanks while parked in a garage, so as a temporary fix to get you there, you can seal the hole with chewed gum. Just don’t use it as a long-term solution.

If your car is too wide for your garage, you may find yourself constantly catching the doors on the walls. To preserve your vehicle’s bodywork, then, try affixing a pool noodle to the wall (you may need to cut it in half first). It’ll cushion your doors and prevent them from getting scratched on the wall.

When we stop at a set of traffic lights, it can be easy to leave the car in gear. But by doing that, we’re adding unnecessary pressure to the engine, which isn’t a good thing in the long term. Instead, we should put the vehicle in neutral, regardless of how long we’ll be waiting there.

Unsurprisingly, cars will get dirty following long periods of use, especially the windshield. Your first thought might be to take the vehicle into the car wash, but there’s a cheaper way to clear off the muck. Indeed, if you spray your windows with a bit of club soda and then give them a wipe, they’ll look as good as new.

This is an interesting one. If you didn’t know, your tire pressure can actually dictate the car’s fuel efficiency. In fact, researcher Bo Saulsbury has claimed that good levels will boost the distance traveled by more than 3 percent. So with that in mind, it might be a good idea to keep your eyes on the wheels, as it could save you money on gas.

While it might seem like a lot of work, maintaining your car’s interior is absolutely vital. After all, who wants to sit in a messy vehicle for hours on end? On that note, there’s a simple way to make the dashboard gleam. You just need to get a container of olive oil, and then scrub it on the surface with an absorbent material.

Should something go wrong with your car’s engine, you can’t help but fear the worst, especially when it comes to the cost of fixing it. However, you might be able to save a bit of cash by driving it to the mechanic yourself. So, for instance, if one of the pipes stopped working, you could temporarily replace it with a Pringles container.

If you often hit the brakes with force when you’re out in your vehicle, you might want to think about dialing it back. To explain why, Kelley Blue Book’s Alec Gutierrez spoke with Money.com in 2015. “If you’re able to save changing brake pads three or four times, it could equal between $600 and $1,000 in savings over the life of the car,” he said.

While maintaining the car’s tire pressure can save us money on gas, there’s something else we need to consider as well. Indeed, we’re also advised to “rotate” the wheels every six months or so. Doing so ensures that the rubber doesn’t wear away in a solitary area, which in turns extends its lifespan on the road.

Bear with us on this one. As many of you will no doubt attest, it’s very tempting to add a bunch of extra attachments to a keychain. Surprisingly, though, the additional mass may take its toll on the ignition over a period of time. In the end, that might lead to a repair bill you could’ve easily avoided.

Whether it’s the driver or one of their passengers, spillages can happen inside a car if people aren’t too careful. Are you one of those individuals? If so, there may be a cost-effective solution to removing the resulting stains. All you need to do is blend some water and baking soda together, before wiping the dirty mark with it.

When we’re out on the open road, we of course sometimes reach speeds of over 50 mph. But as it turns out, that can have a pretty negative effect on our fuel efficiency. “You can think of it like this,” Saulsbury told Money.com. “Every 5 mph you drive above 50 mph is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon of gas.”

After driving to our required destination, we don’t always have the best parking options. However, instead of opting for a spot in the sun’s glare, we should consider stopping in a shadier area, even if it’s further away. By doing that, the inside of the car receives a bit more protection from harmful UV rays.

When the winter months roll in, we need to ensure that our vehicles are protected from sharp bouts of frost. One of the more unorthodox methods in that regard involves busting out a can of cooking spray. For you see, a couple of squirts around the car doors stops them from freezing shut.

As we suggested earlier, a trip to the car wash might be tempting when your vehicle becomes dirty. And the urge will only intensify when part of that muck is made up of dead bugs. If you want to save some cash, though, the insects can be removed at home by rubbing them off with a damp dryer sheet.

Whether they’re in your living room or inside your car, leather seats do have a tendency to crack if you don’t look after them. So to avoid that issue, you just have to follow some simple steps. You need to first clean your vehicle’s chairs ahead of using a “leather protectant.”

The lights inside our cars can be quite useful, especially if we need to look for something that’s dropped beneath the seats. But what happens when the bulb breaks? Thankfully, it’s an issue we can solve ourselves for very little outlay. A car light costs under $10, while step-by-step online video guides are completely free.

Yes, you read that right. More often than not, when our cars require polishing, we’ll purchase a specialist product to do the job. But we could save quite a bit of money by simply opening up a bathroom cabinet. As it turns out, hair conditioner can leave a welcome sheen on the vehicle’s bodywork.

While scratches on the bodywork are bad enough, dents can be even worse to deal with. Despite the feelings of dread they can elicit, though, you might be able to deal with a single dent yourself. To begin with, you’re advised to warm up the area with a hair dryer, before applying a blast with an air duster. The bump should subsequently fix itself.

Under normal circumstances, an oil change will set us back by in excess of $50 at an auto shop. However, if we want to tighten the purse strings, we could do the job at home for under $10. All we’d need is the new fuel and an online guide to help us through the process.

During bouts of bad weather, the roads can become increasingly treacherous. On that note, cars have the potential to get lodged in the resulting sludge. If you’re ever in such a situation, try not to force your vehicle out of it, as you could cause untold harm to the gearbox and clutch. Just accept that you should call for some assistance.

Summer can be a difficult period for drivers, as the warm weather makes cars uncomfortable. Due to the heat, the vehicle’s air conditioning comes in very handy, but you might want to consider rationing your use of it. That’s because the feature will add to your fuel consumption, so you could save some cash by just rolling down the windows.

As we mentioned earlier, there are measures you can take to protect your car from wintry elements. While cooking spray will stop the doors from freezing shut, your windshield is just as vulnerable to the conditions. So if you want to avoid any issues, you should simply drape a bit of durable material over it.

This is another interesting one. Unsurprisingly, we need to turn the car’s steering wheel in an all manner of different positions when we’re out driving. However, if we jar it in a certain place for a significant period, the “power-steering pump” will stop working, meaning we’ll have to foot a repair bill.

Have you ever found yourself in a position where you didn’t know about the placement of the spare tire? Well, we’ve got some news for you. The owner’s manual that came with your car contains that information, alongside some other helpful tidbits. In the grand scheme of things, then, that book might save you a lot of cash.

Bumper stickers add a layer of personality to our vehicles, but after a while, we may want a change. That can be easier said than done, though, as they’re fairly tricky to get rid of. Thankfully, there’s a cost-effective way to complete the job, and it involves wet newspaper. All we need to do is place the latter over the bumper, leave it for a while and then pull it away.

Much like the tires and the air conditioning, air filters can have an impact on your gas mileage as well. If you’re wondering why, it’s because an older filter isn’t as effective at protecting your vehicle’s innards from grime. Thankfully, though, you should be able to swap it out with a new one in no time at all.

If you’ve just purchased a new car, we have some important advice to share with you. Initially, you shouldn’t hit the accelerator too quickly, as that can set the tone for your fuel consumption. It’s an easy thing to miss, of course, yet it could save you lots of money on gas in the future.

A little earlier, we revealed that you could clean your windshield with a dash of club soda. But should you not have that beverage in your house, there’s another method that you can put into practice. Indeed, a single razor blade should be enough to scratch the muck away. And don’t worry – your glass will be free from scuffs as well.

This is an important point to consider. A car’s transmission fluid keeps that part of the vehicle ticking over, and should be examined every so often. When you come to do so, you need to see if the liquid gives off a brown color. That means the part needs to be washed out in an auto shop, otherwise it could give out completely, which would leave you facing a bill of thousands of dollars for a replacement.

It’s sometimes easy to forget about the layer of carpet inside our vehicles. Unfortunately, though, that can lead the material to erode away after a time, so it might need replacing. But to stop that from happening, all we need to do is place some mats in the car.

As we mentioned earlier, parking your car in the shade can protect the interior from the sun’s UV rays. What about the bodywork, though? Is that shielded in the same way? If you’re concerned, you could purchase a cover that drapes over the entire vehicle, which will preserve the car’s color in the summer.

The car battery is a vital component that keeps our vehicles running. But did you know that we can actually clean it? Indeed, with a wire brush in hand, we can scrape away any dirt that might hinder its functioning. In turn, that could potentially save us in the region of $100 for a replacement.

To round things off, here’s another unorthodox money-saver. Incredibly, a bottle of Coca-Cola is the ideal tool to tackle the rust on your car. For you see, the fizzy beverage is acidic, making it powerful enough to wash away the unwanted marks. Before you know it, then, the vehicle could look as good as new.