Your vehicle’s controls are probably something you’re already familiar with. You may not have read the owner’s manual for your car, but you are aware of how to operate the wipers, air conditioning, radio, and warning lights on your vehicle. Hopefully, you are also familiar with the process of changing your car’s tires. The thing you don’t seem to grasp, however, is that all you really need are seven simple, yet life-changing auto hacks, which we’re confident you won’t find in any car handbook and which we believe will change your life. There is something here for everyone, from the tiniest irritation to the most significant annoyance, and you can rest assured that these suggestions will make your life easier. Check to see if you’ve already completed any of the tasks on this list by performing a search.
Car Hacks Everyone Should Need To Know
Fixing A Dent With Hot Water & A Plunge
Has a dent or ding been made on the side of your vehicle? Never be worried about anything. We’ve taken care of everything! Dents are common, and, contrary to popular belief, they are relatively simple to repair once they have occurred. Put a teapot or saucepan on the stove and bring some water to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the dent and pull the plunger. In most cases, the dent should pop right out of the car’s body if it hasn’t been significantly damaged; it won’t look as good as before, but it will be less noticeable.
Fixing A Dent With Hot Water & A Plunge
Dirty Headlights And Toothpaste
You shouldn’t rush to the nearest auto store in search of a specific solution if your headlights are fogged. It’s possible that you already have a solution to your problem in your home. Given the presence of mild abrasives in toothpaste that clean enamel, it has been discovered that toothpaste works just as well on headlights as it does on teeth. With a little toothpaste and elbow grease, you might be able to get your headlights to shine like new again! (As a side note, this might not always work. If the inside is yellowing, you may want to consider replacing it.)
Dirty Headlights And Toothpaste
Opening Your Keyring With A Staple Remover
It’s unlikely that you’ll break your fingers trying to fit a new set of keys onto your bulky metal keyring. Simply separate the end pieces with a staple remover and slide them into the opening! It’s so simple that we’re sure you’re scratching your head in bemusement as to why you’ve never given it a second thought before.
Opening Your Keyring With A Staple Remover
Put A Shower Caddy In The Trunk
If you’re the type who likes to prepare ahead of time, you almost certainly have oil, a funnel, a rag, a flashlight, and other emergency car supplies stashed away in the trunk of your car. If you want to keep all of your important belongings organized and out of the way when you need them, a shower caddy is a good investment. It also helps to keep the trunk clean.
Put A Shower Caddy In The Trunk
Use Pool Noodles To Prevent Car Dings
When you leave your garage, do you have a habit of hitting the garage door on the side of the building? If you want to keep things simple, you can cut an old pool noodle in half and tape it to the wall where the door swings open (the scuff marks should make it easy enough to tell). Whether you use bolts or simple command strips to secure it, you can rest assured that both your car and the wall are secure!
Use Pool Noodles To Prevent Car Dings
Need A Trash Bin? Use Cereal Bins
While we may have been careless in tossing the trash into our automobiles, it is important to remember that if we are not careful, the odors from that trash can permeate our vehicle for a long period of time and cause sickness. If you rent a garbage container, you won’t have to worry about that. You’ll only need one of those small cereal-holding plastic containers for this project. Placing a plastic bag inside a waste can help to keep it compact and odor-free.
Need A Trash Bin? Use Cereal Bins
Reduce Glare With A Tinted Plastic Sheet
Every one of us has been there, whether it was in relation to other people, a task, or a location: You’ve forgotten to bring your sunglasses with you, it’s getting dark outside, and you’re heading west on the highway. Even though you won’t be able to use much protection from this position, you might be able to find something useful! You will no longer be bothered by the sun if you simply attach a simple tinted plastic sheet to the inside of your car window.
Reduce Glare With A Tinted Plastic Sheet
Lessen Frost By Parking Your Car Facing East
Despite the fact that it appears to be some sort of bizarre witchcraft trick, it is actually quite simple and logical in nature. During the morning hours, if you park your car with the sun shining directly on it, the sun’s rays will defrost your front windscreen first. If you leave for work as soon as the sun comes up, you’ll never have to wait for the defroster to warm up again!
Lessen Frost By Parking Your Car Facing East
Extend Your Key’s Range By Holding Them To Your Head
It may appear nonsensical at first glance, but it is effective! The range of your keys will be slightly increased if you place them beneath your chin and press the button again; the fluids in your head will change the range of the signal slightly. If you still don’t believe us, just try it for yourself!
Extend Your Key’s Range By Holding Them To Your Head
Long Ride With A Messy Kid? MagnaDoodle Got You Covered
When taking a lengthy car trip with a young child, there are two obvious concerns: they are messy and easily bored. Fortunately, having a MagnaDoodle in your toy collection can assist you with both of these issues. To begin with, they are one of the most entertaining toys since children may draw and redraw without running out of (or dropping) materials. They may also be used as a tray table for youngsters to consume meals without crumbs and spills all over the place, which you may not realize.
Long Ride With A Messy Kid? MagnaDoodle Got You Covered
Clean Your Wheels With Coke
You’ve certainly heard the phrase “use Coke to clean this” a million times, but a solution of cola and dish detergent will clean your rims of all road grime and brake dust, leaving them sparkling. Some people worry that baking soda will just make things stickier, but the detergent avoids this.
Clean Your Wheels With Coke
You Can Use Pantyhose As A Fan Belt
To begin, if you have any other options in the event of a damaged fan belt (such as calling for a tow), you should make use of them. Saving money isn’t worth the risk of catching your engine on fire. A pair of pantyhose can be used as a fan belt to help you reach a gas station or an area with cell service if you’re genuinely stuck.
You Can Use Pantyhose As A Fan Belt
Use Nail Polish On Small Scratches
If your car’s paint only has a minor scratch or chip, it’s usually not worth the money to have it professionally repaired. Of course, the drawback is that you’ll be driving around with unsightly scratches on your vehicle. We’re ready to bet you had no idea it was possible! Only a smidgeon of nail paint is required to create the appearance. If you can match the paint on your automobile reasonably closely, a little nail polish will effectively hide the scratches so that no one will notice them unless they are looking for them.
Use Nail Polish On Small Scratches
De-Ice Your Keyholes With Hand Sanitizers
Anyone who has ever encountered frozen automobile door locks understands how difficult it is to defrost them. You may not have guessed it, but the solution is hand sanitizer. Although it may seem paradoxical to pour something into a broken lock, the alcohol in the solution will melt the ice, allowing you to turn the lock. It will dissolve on your car in the same way as it does on your hands.
De-Ice Your Keyholes With Hand Sanitizers
Keep Your Seats Buckled During Hot Weather
It’s a dangerous game to try to buckle your seatbelt in the summer. Any metal part of your car that has been exposed to sunlight and heat will irritate your hands, but you may at least avoid the seatbelt issue by buckling it in after exiting and leaving it there until the next time you enter. It can’t get hot enough to burn if the sun can’t reach it!
Keep Your Seats Buckled During Hot Weather
Use Over-The-Door Shoe Racks As Backseat Organizers
This one is especially beneficial if you have children: A simple over-the-door shoe rack can hold all of the backseat essentials, including sippy cups, toys, chargers, and snacks. All of the pouches are clearly accessible and significantly more visible than the pouches that come standard with certain minivan seats.
Use Over-The-Door Shoe Racks As Backseat Organizers
Window Chips? Clear Nail Polish Could Help
The allure of nail paint has struck once more! If your windshield has a crack or chip, it will almost definitely grow and crack considerably more, making driving dangerous. If you can’t afford to replace your windshield right now, a few drops of clear nail paint applied like a run in a pair of stockings should keep the crack from spreading.
Window Chips? Clear Nail Polish Could Help
You Can Use Rubber Bands As Phone Holders
When you need to look at your GPS but don’t have a co-pilot to hold it up for you or one of that window or air vent holders to hold your phone, it’s quite inconvenient (and potentially dangerous). It’s actually quite simple to create the same outcome with a rubber band. The tension will keep it in place if you loop it through a few vents on your center console and around the top and bottom of your phone.
You Can Use Rubber Bands As Phone Holders
Easy Way To Cool Down A Hot Car
Have you ever had to stand outside in the heat of summer to get enough air into your suffocatingly hot automobile so you could BREATHE once inside? Roll down the passenger side window and quickly open and close the driver’s side door to speed up the process. This creates a fan effect, allowing fresh air to enter your vehicle while exhausting the hot, stagnant air.
Easy Way To Cool Down A Hot Car
Dryer Sheets As Air Freshener
Clip-on or over-the-mirror air fresheners, for example, are a waste of money because they only last a few days. A box of dryer sheets lasts far longer, is less obtrusive, and effectively absorbs odors. They come in scented and unscented varieties and will keep your car smelling great for months.
Dryer Sheets As Air Freshener
The Nanotech Car Scratch Remover Cloth
These Multipurpose Scratch Remover Clothes employ advanced nanotechnology to remove car scratches and stains, restore vehicle color, and maintain paint surfaces. According to the business, each cloth can be used 10 to 15 times. They also come with a one-year limited warranty if you’re not convinced of their efficiency. So you can give them a try and contact the company if you don’t like them.
The Nanotech Car Scratch Remover Cloth
Use Scented Wax Cubes As Air Fresheners
Aside from dryer sheets, there’s another homemade air freshener idea for your nose’s pleasure. Simply place a few scented wax cubes in a mason jar that has been drilled with many holes. Place the jar in your car, and the wax will melt as the car warms up, filling it with a pleasant perfume.
Use Scented Wax Cubes As Air Fresheners
Check Your Tire’s State With A Penny
The advice that follows could potentially save your life. Turn a coin upside down and place it in the treads of your tires. You’re in good condition if President Abraham Lincoln’s head sinks halfway in. You’ll need new tires if none of the president’s heads are covered by the tread.
Check Your Tire’s State With A Penny
Keep Your Cup Holder Clean By Doing This
Place silicone cupcake wrappers in the cup holders of your car. They’ll keep all of your loose change organized, plus they’re simple to remove and clean, so your cup holders will always be pristine. You’d be surprised how successful this simple technique is at keeping things tidy.
Keep Your Cup Holder Clean By Doing This
Save Space Using Carabiner Hooks
Get some carabiner hooks and attach them to your headrests to free up some room in the rear. Bags, groceries, umbrellas, and other items can be stored in them. This will allow you to free up a lot more room than you might imagine.
Save Space Using Carabiner Hooks
Use Muffin Pans As A Cupholder
If you’re picking up a large fast-food order, make sure you have a muffin pan and a basket on available. What is the rationale for this? It produces a significantly larger and more durable soft drink holder. Keep this idea in mind the next time you place a large order.
Use Muffin Pans As A Cupholder
Make Grocery Shopping Easier With Laundry Baskets
Place an empty laundry basket in the trunk the next time you go grocery shopping. Fill the basket with bags when you get home, reducing the number of journeys back and forth to the car and making grocery shopping much easier!
Make Grocery Shopping Easier With Laundry Baskets
Keep Some Kitty Litter In Your Trunk
Even if you don’t have a cat, you should have kitty litter in your trunk. To get out of a deep snowbank or a slick patch of road, you’ll need more traction, which kitty litter can provide. After spraying some around your tires, try driving out again. It is recommended that you use the non-clumping variety.
Keep Some Kitty Litter In Your Trunk
Another Kitty Litter Hack
Another great idea is to put kitty litter in a sock and keep it on your dashboard. This may appear absurd, but it will keep your windshield from fogging. And, yes, this is a crucial piece of advice.
Another Kitty Litter Hack
Need To Keep Things In Place? Use Command Hooks
Hang a command hook at floor level if you need a place to store your purse, bag, or mask from flying all over the place. As a consequence, everything you need is within easy reach, and everything is neat and tidy. Keep this idea in mind at all times, and your automobile will never be short on room.
Need To Keep Things In Place Use Command Hooks
Gauge Your Garage Parking With A Tennis Ball
Do you struggle to find a parking spot in your garage? Don’t worry, we’re here to assist you. It can be difficult to see how far forward you’ve pushed into your parking area. Simply tie a line to your garage’s roof and hang a tennis ball from it. It will rest on your windshield once you’ve driven far enough in.
Gauge Your Garage Parking With A Tennis Ball
Download a Parking App to Find Your Car
Do you have trouble recalling where you parked your vehicle? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Finally, those forgotten days are past; there are now a number of useful apps that can assist you in quickly locating your vehicle. You won’t have to waste time searching the mall parking lot for your vehicle. You can select from a number of apps that will assist you in keeping track of where you parked.
Download a Parking App to Find Your Car
Warm Up Your Windshield Wipers
Another tip to help you prepare for the next winter months. You’ll never have to waste time in the morning trying to thaw out your windshield wipers. An old pair of socks and an evening are all that’s required to slip them over each wiper. As a consequence, by the time morning comes and you’re ready to start the day, your windshield wipers will be clear of ice and will adhere to your windshield.
Warm Up Your Windshield Wipers
Handy Towel Holder
If you ask us, we believe this is one of the most effective strategies available, particularly for parents of little children. All you have to do is attach a roll of paper towel to your automobile with a bungee cable. Instead of scanning the entire car for the roll, you can quickly grab the towels. Isn’t it true that one of our passengers in the car is always spilling something or has a runny nose?
Handy Towel Holder
Vinegar To Defrost Your Windows
If you’ve had to defrost your car in the morning, it’s no laughing matter. Why don’t you give it a shot? It works, believe us! Mix vinegar with water instead of spraying water on your windshield. Then combine all of the ingredients in a spray bottle and squirt it all over your windows. The vinegar aids in melting the ice faster, and you may use a spray bottle to spread the mixture evenly to eliminate icy patches obstructing your view.
Vinegar To Defrost Your Windows
Get More Gas From The Pump
There is a better way to pump gas than running full throttle, no matter how simple it may appear. Bubbles will form in your tank if you press the gas pump all the way down, deceiving the nozzle into thinking it’s full. In reality, there is still room for more gas; all you need to do is slow down. If you only press the pump halfway, you’ll have to wait a bit longer for the gas to flow out. You will, however, have extra gas in your tank.
Get More Gas From The Pump
Blow Away Bumper Stickers
Most of you who are reading this own a car with at least one style of a bumper sticker. It turns out that getting rid of them is a lot easier than you might think. This method just necessitates the use of a high-quality hairdryer. After a few minutes of heating the sides of the sticker with the hairdryer, the glue should start to loosen, making it easier to remove. It’s time to get rid of those bumper stickers from 2006.
Blow Away Bumper Stickers
Slime Is Your Savior
Who knew a child’s toy could be used for one of the most inventive car hacks? Slime and automobile interiors are, in fact, a match made in heaven. If your kids’ playroom is out of slime, you can quickly acquire some at the supermarket. Clean all of the hard-to-reach locations in your automobile, such as the air vents and along the sides of your chair, with the slime. Any dirt or dust that you can’t get rid of is swiftly absorbed by the slime.
Slime Is Your Savior
If Your Tires Blows, DON’T Brake
This isn’t so much a hack as it is a great piece of advice. If your tire blows out while traveling at least 65 km/h on a straight route, do not stop. Despite the fact that it may be instinctual, strive to fight the urge. Why, exactly, do you inquire? If you apply the brakes, you’ll fishtail and maybe lose control of your vehicle, which could result in a collision with anything. You should instead keep your foot on the gas pedal. Isn’t it strange? We understand, but this will assist you in regaining control of your vehicle and maintaining a straight line on the road. It should only take a few seconds.
If Your Tires Blows, DON’T Brake
Don’t Weigh Down Your Key
Do not break if your tire explodes while traveling at least 65 km/h on a straight road. Even though it’s instinctive, try to resist the desire. Why? If you press the brakes, you’ll fishtail and maybe lose control of your vehicle, which could end in a collision with anything. Instead, keep your foot placed firmly on the accelerator. It will assist you in recovering control of your vehicle and heading straight ahead. It should only take a few moments.
Don’t Weigh Down Your Key
Prevent Car Sickness
This is more of a cautionary notice than a hack. Having too many keys or charming keychains could ruin the ignition switch. That is to say, with time, your car will not start as smoothly as it should. Experts recommend that you just have three keys or keychains in your collection. Take it to the dealer as soon as possible if you sense a tightness or your key locks in the ignition. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending a lot of money before you realize it.
Prevent Car Sickness
Lowering Your Insurance Costs
We’re always looking for ways to save money on our monthly costs, especially when it comes to our cars. Now you can! All you have to do now is work on your defensive driving techniques. It is quite advantageous and aids in the development of your driving abilities. Defensive driving can drastically cut the cost of auto insurance in several nations across the world. Consider the vehicle insurance reductions if you’re still on the fence about whether or not learning defensive driving is worth your time and money.
Lowering Your Insurance Costs
What Side Is The Tank On?
People frequently “forget” which side of the tank their tank is on when they pull up to fill up their gas tank. What they don’t realize is that the answer has always been right in front of their eyes. Take a quick look at your dashboard’s gasoline gauge…do you see it now? A picture of a petrol pump will have an arrow next to it. The direction in which the arrow points in the direction in which the car’s filler cap is located.
What Side Is The Tank On?
Diagnose Your Own Car troubles
Gone are the days when you wished you could simply figure out what was wrong with your car without seeing a mechanic. All that’s left for you to do now is buy an auto-code reader. When you plug it into the car’s computer system via the OBD plug, it will instantly read your engine’s trouble codes. You’ll discover what’s causing the check engine light to illuminate, where a defective oxygen sensor may be found, how to read improved data, and even how to quickly obtain your vehicle’s VIN.
Diagnose Your own Car troubles
Always Keep An Emergency Kit
Without a question, every driver should have an emergency pack in their vehicle. A compass, jumper cables, a flashlight, extra batteries, and a first-aid kit should all be packed. One of the most critical items in this suitcase should be a basic tool kit. Warm clothing, a shovel, and a backup cell phone charger are also suggested. You never know when a skill you’ve acquired will be useful!
Always Keep An Emergency Kit
Clean Your AC Vents
Your car’s air conditioning is a godsend on a scorching hot summer day as well as a bitterly cold winter day. The majority of people, on the other hand, overlook the significance of cleaning the air vents in their vehicles. One of the best ways to clean them is with a foam brush, which you can usually find at your local hardware shop (from the inside). After that, gently clean each panel. Not only will this keep your air conditioning clean and fresh, but it will help keep everyone in the car healthy.
Clean Your AC Vents
Vaseline Tip
For years, Vaseline has been one of the most effective lifesavers. Not just for colds and the flu, but for pretty much anything. Have you considered using it for your car’s interior? If your automobile has a vinyl or leather interior, spread Vaseline all over it using a cloth or cotton wool to preserve the leather from tearing. Vaseline can also be smeared on rubber door seals in the winter to keep them from freezing.
Vaseline Tip
Avoid Crumbs
Parents of little children are well aware of how filthy automobiles can get. It’s as if your vehicle has become its own garbage can. Worse, youngsters could drop a variety of stuff in between the car seats, making cleaning a pain. Place a sheet beneath the booster seat to catch any items that fall through the cracks. Any future mishaps, such as melted sweets, juice spills, or even dog drool, will not be a concern for your vehicle.
Avoid Crumbs
Use A Newspaper To Clean Windows
Although we’ve just discussed one window-cleaning method, it’s always good to have a few others. This method has been tried and tested, and believe it or not, nothing cleans windows better than an old newspaper. Simply use window cleaner to clean your windows, then scrape the newspaper with a sharp brush. This will provide you with sparkling clean results right away. However, make sure the windows aren’t tinted!
Use A Newspaper To Clean Windows