These 6 Tips Will Protect Your Car & Keep it Cool in the Summer Heat

Summer is just around the corner, and it is time to get your car ready for the change of seasons and deal with the heat before it damages your vehicle.

Spring is here and it will not be long until the serious heat of summer arrives in full-force. So, it is time to start getting your car ready for the change. First, get the mechanics out of the way, then look for ways to just keep your car a bit more heat-tolerable when parked.

1. First things first: Check your A/C. If it is blowing noticeably warmer than it once did, have the system checked. It may just be the refrigerant, but then again you could have a system problem, like a leak. The last thing you want is to head into summer temps with a faulty A/C system.
2. Have other coolants in your car checked while you are at it. It is important to keep them fresh to keep your car from overheating, and to maintain the health of your car long-term. Your car can overheat any time of the year, but when it is hot outside, it certainly doesn’t help your system, so keeping coolants up-to-date is important.
3. In addition to coolants, all of your car’s fluids need to be checked and replenished if need be. It is important to keep your car’s engine lubricated, so it will run smoothly, not add any unnecessary friction-involved heat, and help the coolants keep their target parts running at a good, non-damaging temp.
4. You may not think about it, but your battery can use some help this time of the year, as well. Just as the extreme cold can affect it, so can the extreme heat! So, particularly if your battery is older, it wouldn’t hurt to have it checked to see how much life it has left in it.
5. And, check your tires for proper inflation. Improperly inflated tires can cause higher amounts of heat to be generated as you drive, due to the greater surface area of the tire creating friction on the road. And, definitely if you are planning a fun family road trip, you will want to check those tires (as well as all of these other areas).

And When Not Driving Your Car

While not driving, keep your car parked in a cool place, if possible. If you cannot park in a garage or under some type of shading, try to park your car so that it is not facing directly into the sun. Some people like their windows to be tinted in order to keep a bit more sun off of the interior. When parked, spreading blankets over the seats will help protect them from direct sunlight, and will also help with the dreaded task of entering a parked car in the summer—those seats can get hot. And, laying a sunshade across the dash upon parking can help with the sunlight streaming directly onto the dash area and steering wheel. Just toss it and the blankets into the trunk when you are ready to hit the road. Also, cracking the windows a bit will help let the air circulate from the inside-out. Window vent visors will be helpful, too, if you worry about rain. And now, there are solar vents. These gadgets have a small solar panel that powers a fan, which helps bring hot air out and let cooler outside air into the car.

These tips should help you and your car make it through the hot summer weather ahead, no matter where you live—here’s to many cool breezes ahead!

Image: Wikimedia Commons