The interior of your car consists of:

1. The seats and other interior comforts. The seats have controls to adjust their position, height, and slant. Most cars have air conditioning, heaters, a radio, a cigarette lighter (which can also be used for accessories such as a cellular phone). Air conditioning works on the same principle as a small refrigerator, creating cold air that is blown into the interior of the car through the vents. Most cars are equipped with seat belts and many now have air bags that will inflate automatically in the event of impact to protect the driver from hitting the windshield.

2. The dashboard, which is the command center, informs the driver what is going on by means of various dials, lights, and symbols.

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3. The knobs, pedals, and other controls with which the driver controls the car. There are controls by the steering column or on the dashboard for side lights, head lights, high beam head lights, directional indicators, hazard indicators, a manual or automatic gear stick, the steering wheel, the horn, the heater, the air conditioner, and the radio amongst others. The accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, and the clutch pedal are all located by the driver's feet. In case a fuse blows it is good to know that a fuse box is under the dashboard on the driver's side.

There are three vital things to know about the interior of your car:

1. Get familiar with all the controls and dials in your car. Nose around and find them. Look in the manual and find out what they do. Check them out. Make sure they are working properly.

2. If a light comes on the dashboard you must STOP and find out what the problem is. Do not keep on driving even if you are in a hurry. These lights mean something is wrong and you need to find out what. It could be serious.

3. If one of the controls is not working you need to fix it at once as these enable the car to be safely driven.

The Dials

The dials show the temperature of the engine, how fast the car is going, the RPMs, the mileage the car has been driven, and often such features as oil pressure and fuel consumption.

The speedometer shows the speed you are moving in miles or kilometers per hour. It has a counter that keeps a running total of miles or kilometers that the car has been driven. It also usually has a counter that you can use to measure the length of a particular trip. It is illegal to tamper with the mileage counter, but sometimes people selling a car will move the mileage back to make the car appear more attractive. If you look carefully the numbers on the odometer should line up exactly in a straight line. If they do not the counter may have been tampered with. Does the mileage shown correspond to the age and conditions of the car?

The tachometer shows the RPMs of the engine to help you change gears at the right time.

The oil gauge shows the oil pressure. A normal oil pressure level is anywhere from about 45 pounds per square inch up to 75 pounds per square inch. If the oil pressure is showing below about 10 pounds per square inch then you must stop at once and locate the source of the low oil pressure. This could be as simple as checking the oil and filling it up. Normal and dangerous pressure levels vary from car to car and you should consult the manual for the levels for your car.

The temperature gauge shows how hot and cold the engine is. Do not let the engine overheat. If you see this gauge ranging higher than normal there is a problem and you must get it checked out fast.

The fuel gauge shows the fuel level in the tank and, sometimes in newer models, the fuel consumption occurring in miles per gallon.

The voltage meter shows the charge being sent back to the battery by the alternator and that the alternator is functioning properly .This gauge should not drop. There may also be a gauge showing if the battery is holding the charge it is receiving. This is different from the voltage meter.

There are a number of warning fights (sometimes called "idiot lights") on the dashboard that come on if the oil is low, the car is overheating, the voltage is bad, the gas is low and so forth. Once again do not ignore these lights if they come on. Find out why they are on and handle it now!