When trying to educate yourself about the automotive world, you’re sure to come across quite a few fallacies out there. I believe so many random myths to be true when I was younger, but extensive research and a life immersed in cars has helped me realize how many things people get wrong!
Some of the myths are quite harmless, but others could cost you time and money if you actually take them for fact. So I’ve compiled a list of common myths in this post, and I’m going to bust them here and now!
Read on for supposed car facts that simply aren’t true — and the proof to back it up!
1. Driving on empty hurts your engine. This myth is perpetuated from the old-school style of how a car is run. Cars used to become damaged if you ran too close to empty, allowing dirt and debris to corrode the engine. But today, the modern car setup eliminates any worries about that. Modern fuel pumps have a protective screen to catch contaminants before they enter the fuel system.
2. It takes more gas to turn your car back on than to let it idle. The growing popularity of stop-start engines should give you pause on believing this myth, and for good reason. Modern cars are so efficient that starting the engine takes just about as much gas as it does to keep it running. So having the car on is definitely burning more gas that you would if you just turned the car off — even if it’s just for a few seconds!
3. Red cars cost more to insure. This is just a silly myth that has never had any basis. Sure, red cars have a reputation of being edgier and for people who love to drive fast, but an insurance company could never get away with charging more to insure a car just because of its color. So go ahead and buy that red car if you really love it!
4. You have to change your oil every 3,000 miles. Thank goodness for modern technology, which makes cars so much better at just about everything, including how efficiently they use oil! Cars can run on the same oil for MUCH longer than they used to, so you could go as far as 10,000 miles before needing an oil change!
5. SUVs are safer than small cars. Nope, no real basis here! So many SUVs are actually more dangerous than small cars, because they’re higher off the ground and have a greater likelihood of flipping in icy or snowy weather. It’s definitely more about safe driving than about having more car material between you and the ground!
6. Premium fuel is better for your non-premium car. The only thing buying premium gas for your Toyota Corolla is doing for you is wasting money. Premium fuel is only necessary for a car that demands it in the car manual. And even then, it’s not as important as some people make it out to be. If you’re not driving a special, luxury vehicle that calls for it, stick with the cheaper stuff!
7. Turning on your AC is better for fuel economy than opening the windows. Rumor has it that rolling down the windows will drag the car down, but several sources (including Mythbusters and Consumer Reports) have found that the myth actually has it backward: cars can go farther with the windows down rather than having the AC on!
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