25 Basic Interior Parts of a Car | Car Interior Parts and Function (2024)

The car has become a most vital part of most families. Cars are most commonly used for transportation. A car consists of multiple interior and exterior parts. All of these parts play an important role in the proper operation of the car. This article explains the different interior parts of a car and their function.

What is a Car?

The car is a type of four-wheeled vehicle invented for transportation purposes and is usually driven by an IC engine. The cars are most commonly driven by a petrol engine, diesel engine, or hybrid engine. They transport humans instead of goods.

The first car was invented by German discovererKarl Benz in 1886. The car consists of multiple internal and external components such as a fuel pump, carburetor, engine, fuel tank, fuel rails, cooling system, fuel pressure regulator, and many other parts.

Let’s discuss the different car interior parts:

Types of Car Interior Parts

The car has the following major interior parts:

1. Steering Wheel
2. Parking Brake
3. Rear View Mirror
4. Temperature Indication Gauge
5. Air Ventilation
6. Side Mirror
7. Fuel Gauge
8. Vehicle Audio
9. Emergency Flashers
10. Glove or Storage Compartment
11. Cup Holder
12. ClutchPedal
13. Brake Pedal
14. Floor Carpet
15. Ventilation Controls
16. Stick Shift
17. Power Window or Door Lock Controls
18. Air Bags
19. Speedometer
20. Gas Pedal
21. Turn Signal Indicator
22. Door Opening Trim
23. Headliner
24. Door Weather Strip
25. Tibia Pad

1) Steering Wheel

The steering wheel is an interior part of the car that uses to control the direction of the car wheels.

The vehicle driver controls the power steering wheel manually. Therefore, the steering wheel is also called a handwheel or driving wheel. It is directly connected to the front wheels of the vehicle. It uses to turn the vehicle. This part of the car works according to the input by the car driver.

Power steering has the following major two types:

1. Electric Power Steering System
2. Mechanical Power Steering System

The most modern vehicles have electrical power steering. The power steering contains a horn unit that emits a loud audible sound to attain the concentration of nearby pedestrians and vehicles.

Read More: Working of Power Steering System

2)Emergency or Parking Brake

The emergency brake serves as a hand lever for instant braking. It is installed in the central console of the vehicle.

It has a cable connected to the two-wheel brake that further linked to a drive mechanism. The parking brakes use to stop the car from moving backward or forward when parked.

3) Rear View Mirror

A rear-view mirror is an interior part of the car that allows the driver to see behind sitting passengers through the rear window. This mirror shows both an unobstructed 180-degree view and a standard reflected view of what’s behind a vehicle.

The rear view mirror is expanded through various side-view mirrors, which use as only rear-vision mirrors for bicycles, motorcycles, and trucks.

4) Temperature Gauge

The temperature gauge measures the temperature of your vehicle engine and shows it on your vehicle dashboard. In this way, it helps to prevent the vehicle engine from overheating.

Read More: Reasons of Engine Overheating

5)Air Ventilation

The most modern vehicles have an HVAC system. The main function of the HVAC system is to maintain the air temperature inside the car according to the requirements.

The air conditioning system work according to the following two methods:

• The first method is air recirculation. In this method, the air conditioner continuously recirculates the air inside the car in order to cool it.
• The second one is the fresh air method. In this method, the air duct at the front of the car is opened to suck external air inside the vehicle. Both modes have their strengths and weaknesses.

Read More: Working Cycle of HVAC System

6)Side Mirror

These are mirrors installed on the outside of the car. The side mirror allows the driver to look at the side areas of the car, areas out of the peripheral vision, and the rear of the car. This side mirror is also called a wing mirror.

The side mirror uses for the remote or manual horizontal or vertical adjustments to get the best suitable coverage for drivers of different heights and seating positions.

7)Fuel Gauge

A fuel gauge is a unit that measures the fuel level in the fuel tank and shows this level on the car dashboard. This component also locates on the dashboard of the car.

The fuel gauge and speedometer are the best ideals for automobiles. In the early 20th century, they were available for standard equipment.

8) Vehicle Audio System

The audio system is one of the most important interior parts of the car. It provides information and entertainment for the passengers of the car. You can also play songs according to your interest in the vehicle audio system.

The vehicles had simple AM radio at the start of the 1950s. With the advancement of technology, this simple AM radio is converted into the navigation system, Blu-ray player, DVD player, CD player, record player, cassette player, 8-track cassette player, FM radio, and smartphone controllers such as Android and CarPlay Auto.

9)Emergency Flashers

A hazard warning flasher is a visible warning light installed at the vehicle’s front dashboard. These flashers activate as the driver presses the emergency warning light switch. A vehicle has four turn signal lights. These turn signal lights are installed on the four external sides of the vehicle.

When the driver turns ON the emergency flasher, it means that he is warning other drivers that there is an emergency in which they may fall. When the driver activates the emergency flasher, all four turn signals of the vehicle will also turn on.

10)Glove or Storage Compartment

The storage compartment builds in the car’s dashboard. It uses to store various things. This compartment mostly uses for storing the driving gloves. Therefore, it is known as a glove compartment.

It is installed just above the car’s front seat footwell. It is mostly placed on a floorboard near the driver.

11) Beverage orCup Holder

The beverage holder uses as a restaurant table or cup holder in the car during the journey.

It has high durability, sustainability, and easy operation. It most commonly uses to hold things you want to store, such as food and beverages.

Many cars, ships, trains, trucks, buses, and airplanes have cup holders. You can also find it in the local transportation buses.

12)ClutchPedal

You can find the clutch pedals only in manual transmission vehicles. This pedal installs on the floor to the brake pedal left side.

As you press your car’s clutch pedal, it closes the clutch, ending power transfer from the engine to the transmission. As you release it, it just opens the clutch and starts the power transfer process from the engine to the transmission.

13) Brake Pedal

The latest cars have a brake pedal. This pedal uses to control the braking system of your car. It is installed on the car floor to the left of the accelerator pedal. It is connected to the brakes.

As the driver presses the brake padel, it pushes the brakes and stops or slows down the vehicle’s speed. The driver uses his/her right foot to press the pedal to apply brakes.

14)Floor Carpet

The dirt from the shoes spreads in the car produces an unhealthy and very smelly environment. As you use a carpet on your car floor, you can prevent dust and water accumulation inside the car. You can manually remove the floor.

15)Ventilation Controls

The ventilation control panel of the driver uses to control the heating or cooling atmosphere in the car. The fan of the HVAC system delivers cool air from the air conditioning system into the car or hot air from the engine cooling system into the car cabin through the heater core.

Read More: Working of Engine Cooling System

16)Transmission or Stick Shift

The manual or standard transmission of a vehicle is also known as a stick shift. This transmission system uses to manually change gears when accelerating and decelerating the car—this interior part of the vehicle is installed at the vehicle center.

A connecting rod uses to connect the transmission to the shift lever.

17) Power Window or Door Lock Controls

An automatic button is used to open or close the power windows. You can most commonly find these windows in the most modern cars. As you press the button (located on your car door), these windows open.

In 1941, Power windows were first time designed with Ford Motor. These windows were firstly employed on Lincoln Custom and Packard Custom Super 180 cars.

These windows don’t have manual handles. Therefore, you can’t operate them manually.

18) Air Bag

The airbag is one of the most important interior parts of the car. It contains a bag that inflates and deflates quickly in the event of an accident. The airbag has a flexible fabric bag, inflatable module, airbag cushion, and impact sensor.

The main objective of the airbag in a car is to give soft cushioning and control to the passenger of the car in the event of an incident. It minimizes the injury between the interior of the car and the flailing occupants.

19)Speedometer

A speedometer is a mechanical unit that calculates and shows the car’s speed. It is located on the dashboard of the car.

The speedometer has multiple names for other vehicles and uses other means of detecting speed. It is also called an airspeed indicator. It is also called Pit log in aircraft and boats.

20)Gas Pedal

The gas pedal is also called the accelerator pedal. You can find it on the right side of your car floor.

The main purpose of the gas pedal is to handle the amount of gas fed to the engine, which handles the car’s speed. As your car accelerates, slowly presses the gas pedal.

Read More: Different types of Engines

21) Turn Signal Indicator

A car has four turn signals. These signals are located at all four sides of the car. In the interior of the car, the turn signal indicator usually represent as green arrows pointing in the desired direction.

Few vehicles have turn signals on the power steering system’s left side. The signal indicator works in such a way that if you move the lever upward, it shows the right turn, and if you move the lever downward, it shows the left turn signal.

22) Door Opening Trim

The trim is also known aswindow molding. Rubber or plastic is most commonly used for its construction. It is connected to the vehicle body around the door area.

It performs various functions such as shock absorption, interior sealing, and visual enhancement. The trim also helps to fix the window in its place and helps to protect the window glass.

23) Headliner

A headliner is a product that uses to cover the car roof. It is a combination of an inner foam backing, an inner rigid substrate, and an outer layer of fabric. In the latest vehicles, the headliner has different functions and is being modularized.

24) Door Weather Strip

This interior part of the car attaches on both sides of the door window to stop the rainwater entry inside the car when you roll the window up and down. It also helps to stop the window glass from vibrating during operation.

25) Tibia Pad

The tibia pad is made of polystyrene resin. This part of the car installs between the vehicle carpet and floor.

In case of an accident, the tibia pad works as an energy absorber, reducing the impact on the vehicle passenger legs. The most modern tibia pads also have the ability to absorb or reduce noise.

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