Spider Veins from Your Heated Car Seats? Do This Before Going to a Mechanic.

Here’s some recent advice from a Ford mechanic on simple checks you can do if you discover that your vehicle’s climate control is putting out little to no heat this winter. Plus, an explanation of why changing your coolant is an important car maintenance precaution as well as one toward protecting your skin.

It’s Getting Cold and Your Heated Car Seats Just Don’t Cut It

It’s human nature to compensate rather than take care of a problem that needs fixing when it comes to cars. Case in point: the bad habit some car owners have of using their heated car seats throughout the winter rather than determine why their climate control is not working like it should.

While heated car seats are designed to operate safely between 86 to 113 degrees, sometimes the temp can rise as high as 150 degrees F. In fact, third degree burns have occurred from heated car seats---especially in car owners with diabetes or some other neuropathy that decreases their skin’s sensitivity to heat.

In other cases, some reports point to “toasted skin syndrome” i.e., “erythema ab igne” which is a skin condition resulting in discoloration, itching, scaling, and telangiectasias i.e., “Spider Veins!” resulting from prolonged skin exposure to a heat source such as heated car seats as an example.

Aside from all of this, relying on your heated car seats to carry you over throughout the winter is a bad idea and just doesn’t really cut it for keeping you and your passengers warm and comfortable.

However, there’s a more important reason for not adopting this habit---your car’s coolant might be in need of changing; without which, could wind up harming your vehicle.

Ford Tech Makuloco Advice
In a recent FordTechMakuloco YouTube channel video the host demonstrates some simple steps Ford F-150 truck owners (and other makes and model owners as well) can take to help diagnose and possibly treat the problem of cold air blowing into their vehicle’s interior when their heating system appears to be malfunctioning.

The value of the video is that even if you have a blocked core or other problem that requires a mechanic, you can determine whether the mechanic is making a reasonable diagnosis and not scamming you with a simple coolant refill.

That said, here is a useful video that demonstrates how to diagnose the problem of cold air blowing into the cab to add to your car maintenance and repair skill set.

How to Quickly Determine if Your Heater Core is Plugged!

And finally…

For additional articles about car maintenance involving climate control systems, here are few for your consideration:

• Do This with Your Car’s AC System Before Going to a Mechanic

• Reasons Why Your Car’s AC Died and The Repairs to Fix It

• Consumer Reports Recommends Avoiding These Used Car Models This Summer

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Timothy Boyer is a Torque News automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily new and used vehicle news.

Image Source: Pixabay