Highway vs city miles: what’s worse for your car?

Your odometer can tell you a lot about your car’s past and, if it’s a new purchase, how it’ll be after you drive it. Throughout your Orlando Toyota’s life, you’ll inevitably put miles on it and wear it down. But, how you put driving miles on your car matters. To help bring some light to the age-old debate, Toyota of Orlando is here with an easy to follow guide on the difference between city and highway driving miles and how they ultimately affect your car.

City miles

While the commute is shorter for cars that drive in the city, this type of driving miles puts more wear on your car over time. Driving in the city where your Orlando Toyota vehicle is constantly stopping and accelerating puts a lot of wear on your transmission due to inconsistent rpm fluctuation. Not only do the miles themselves hurt your car, but the streets in a city can pose additional hazards for your vehicle. Badly maintained roads are often riddled with potholes that can mess up your suspension, cars drive and park closely to your vehicle and can damage your exterior, and the stop-and-go motion wears your brakes down quickly. Your Orlando Toyota vehicle can benefit from this type of driving miles with a low odometer reading, but it comes at the cost of greater wear and tear when compared to highway driving.

Highway miles

Driving your car for extensive periods of time and putting more miles on it, compared to a city driving car, doesn’t really seem like the better alternative. But, the truth is that highway driving miles are actually less detrimental to your Orlando Toyota vehicle than city miles. The reason is that your vehicle can cruise at a consistent rpm, shift gears far less, use the brakes less, you can use cruise control, and you’re pretty isolated from other vehicles on the road. Highways are typically better maintained than city roads which means less potholes and less wear on your suspension. Not only do highway driving miles wear out your Orlando Toyota vehicle less, but they also help maintain your battery and alternator by keeping a consistent charge throughout your commute. All in all, highway driving miles are far better than city when it comes to your vehicle’s life span. But, this does increase your odometer reading more quickly and could negatively affect your trade in value.

Other things to consider

The difference between city and highway driving miles is clear but strictly driving one or the other doesn’t necessarily give you better longevity for your Orlando Toyota vehicle. Staying on top of regular maintenance like tire rotations and oil changes, making repairs at the first sign of something being wrong, and checking your fluid levels can make all the difference for your vehicle. Our expert auto service department at Toyota of Orlando can help you stay on top of your vehicle’s maintenance at an affordable price!

Keep your vehicle cruising with Toyota of Orlando

Keeping strictly highway or city driving miles on your car doesn’t necessarily guarantee a long life-span for your car, but a regular maintenance schedule can! Let us maintain your vehicle at Toyota of Orlando! Our expert auto service team can keep your car healthy and running at a price you can agree with. Visit us at 3575 Vineland Road seven days a week!