Motoring is full of abbreviations you’ve probably never heard before, so if you hear your DPF is blocked, or someone you know just bought a ZEV never fear- it’s probably in our list writes Suzanne Keane
A-Z of Car Terms
- AWD – All wheel drive (or another way of saying 4 wheel drive!)
- BHP – Brake Horse Power (A measure of the engines horsepower)
- CRD – Common Rail Diesel (This is where a single pressurised fuel line supplies all the diesel to cylinders in an engine)
- DPF – Diesel Particulate Filter (This removes soot from exhaust gas and they have a tendency to get blocked quite frequently!)
- EGR– Exhaust Gas Recirculation (This redirects some of the emissions back into the engine to improve fuel economy)
- FWD – Front Wheel Drive
- GWV – Gross Vehicle Weight (This is the maximum weight of the entire car, including all passengers, luggage AND the car itself!)
- HIDs – High Intensity Discharge Lamps (See also Xenon)
- I – injection
- Km – Kilometers
- LED – Light Emitting Diode (These give a much brighter and cleaner looking light and last longer too!)
- MAF – Mass Air Flow Meter (Measures the air entering the engine in order the balance the fuel)
- Nm – A measure of Torque (The engines turning force)
- OBD – On Board Diagnostics
- PAB – Passenger Airbag
- RWD – Rear Wheel Drive
- SRS – Supplementary Restraint System (This is another name for your airbag system – designed to work in conjunction with seatbelts)
- TBO – is for Turbo!
- UVW – Unloaded Vehicle Weight
- VIN – Vehicle Identification Number (also referred to as a Chassis Number)
- W/B – Wheelbase
- Xenon – Lights that use a gas filled bulb and an electrical arc to light
- YOM – Year of Manufacture
- ZEV – Zero Emissions Vehicle
Suzanne Keane
12th May, 2014
