5 Summer Car Care Tips
With the intense glare from the sun and all of the heat and humidity that occurs during summer, your car can really take a beating. Just like how freezing temperatures can harm your vehicle, so can brutally hot temperatures. That’s why we have some useful summer car care tips that will help your car beat the heat and stay cool.
Keep Your Car’s Engine Cool
It’s very easy for your vehicle’s engine to overheat if the temperature is high. The heat can also cause certain components that are found in an engine to deteriorate, such as the rubber parts and belts. So, you should periodically check to make sure everything is running smoothly and that nothing looks damaged. It is important that you also routinely flush your engine’s fluids, especially the coolants as they protect the engine from overheating. In your vehicle’s owner’s manual, you’ll find the manufacturer’s suggested wait time between flushes.
Never, ever remove the cap to your car’s radiator while the engine is still hot. The coolants can cause serious burns when boiling and under pressure.
Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated
There are many benefits to keeping your car’s tires properly inflated and maintained. From optimizing your fuel economy to having better traction, it’s important that your tires are in good condition. If the tires are under-inflated, they will generate more heat and the risk of a blowout increases, and the added heat of the road and outside does not help the situation. You should check your tire pressure at least once a month, and the best, most accurate reading is while the tires are cool.
[Learn More: Where can I get my car serviced near St. Augustine, FL?]
Prepare Your Car’s Battery for the Heat
Heat can cause battery problems just like the cold weather can; in fact, the heat can cause more problems for the battery than the cold. The heat and vibrations while in motion can cause the battery to have an internal breakdown and fail. Although there is not much you can do, you can make sure that the battery is properly mounted in order to lessen the vibrations. The heat can also speed up the evaporation of the battery fluid, which causes corrosion. So, you should clean up any corrosive buildup and double check that the clamps are tightly secured so that they don’t move.
Keep Out of the Sun
Just like how you should avoid long amounts of direct sunlight, so should your car. Now, that is easier said than done, but the sun can cause various damages from UV rays, as well as increase the temperature of your car. Parking in the shade or a garage and using a sun shade for the windshield are good ways to help protect and cool your car. Plus, you should also wax your vehicle with a polish that protects against UV rays—like how you would put sun screen on yourself.
Prepare an Emergency Kit
This is something you should have prepared all year ’round. But with the increase in tire blowouts or engines overheating, it’s best to be prepared with supplies more specific to summer. Such as carrying extra items for a tire change or containers of coolant or motor oil. Keeping a hat and extra towels may be a good idea as well; same with keeping sun screen in your car in case you become stuck in a sunny area.
Continue to follow our blog for more tips on how to care and maintain your vehicle! If your vehicle needs a checkup before a summer road trip or needs its fluids flushed, you can contact our expert service technicians for assistance.
