Is it safe to drive a 15-year-old car on the highway?
2 Answers
As long as the vehicle has passed the annual inspection, it is allowed to drive on the highway. According to current Chinese laws and regulations, there is no longer a mandatory retirement age for private cars, but they will be forcibly scrapped once the mileage reaches 600,000 kilometers. Here is additional information about car retirement: 1. Retirement period: As required, vehicles over 15 years old will face more complicated annual inspections, needing to be inspected every 6 months. If they fail the inspection, they will be forcibly scrapped. This is because the engine's design lifespan is 15 years. For vehicles over 20 years old, they need to undergo four regular inspections annually, and if they fail, they will be forcibly scrapped. 2. Chassis tuning: The stability of a car at high speeds mainly depends on the chassis tuning and has nothing to do with the car's weight. If a car has a higher chassis and softer shock absorbers, its stability at high speeds will be relatively poor.
Last time before taking my 2005 Passat on a long-distance trip, I specifically went for a full vehicle inspection. With older cars, the biggest fear on highways is aging rubber components. The mechanic focused on checking the suspension bushings and ball joints, saying cracks in these could cause alignment issues. I deliberately switched to full synthetic oil - for older engines, a higher viscosity 5W-40 is safer. The scariest find was the radiator upper tank plastic becoming brittle; the mechanic warned highway pressure could make it burst, so we temporarily replaced it with an aluminum one. If you're planning to take an older car on the highway, absolutely test brake fade in advance - I once had a close call when my pedal went soft, later learning it was due to brake fluid absorbing moisture and lowering the boiling point. Remember to keep tire pressure 0.2bar higher than city driving - it saves fuel and reduces blowout risks.
