Repairing and Maintaining Cars in Summer: Heat Protection and Maintenance Tips

Summers are no doubt a fun and vacation-filled time of the year, however, as enjoyable as it can be, the scorching heat can a toll on everything, including your car. The intense heat can have a severe impact on the performance and longevity of your vehicle, hence, you must protect and maintain it regularly to ensure its smooth functioning. Also, considering that this time of the year you might go on road trips, to the beaches regularly or on long drives and more, it’s imperative that your car is well-maintained to avoid any mishaps.

Through this article, we will shed some light on why should you take care of your car and how to do so during the hot summer months.

How the Scorching Heat Can Damage Your Car During Summer?

To understand how to protect and maintain your car, it’s essential you know how parts of your car can be impacted tremendously. Let’s take a look below.

Overheating of the Engine:

It’s quite common for your car engine to overheat during the summer due to the external temperatures and the heat generated by the engine. Increased temperatures generally can cause the water inside the radiator to evaporate, dropping the coolant level and causing the engine to overheat.

Fluctuations in the Tire Pressure:

Due to the soaring temperatures, you might also notice a rise in the air pressure of your tires. This can cause either the tire to overinflate, which could result in a blowout or it could underinflate and cause wear, and decrease the fuel efficiency. Besides, it can increase friction and enable you to lose control of the steering wheel, causing a major accident.

Evaporation of Fluid:

High temperatures generally can cause transmission fluid, oil and coolant to evaporate faster, thereby, impacting the functioning of your car.

Issues with the Battery:

The elevated temperatures during the summer months can lead to the evaporation of fluids inside the battery, resulting in a weakened charge and a shorter lifespan of your battery.

Straining of the Air Conditioner:

Due to the scorching heat outside, your car’s air conditioning has to work harder, causing constant straining. Therefore, it is essential to maintain and check on your cooling system regularly if you want to avoid traveling in the car with a broken AC during the summer months.

Car Maintenance Tips for the Summer Months

Here are some essential tips for your car care during the summer months.

Inspect the Battery of Your Car

The soaring temperatures during summer have a major impact on your car’s battery life. The battery fluid can quickly evaporate, which leads to potential internal damage. If you start noticing signs such as a bloated battery, your car taking a lot of time to get started or your lights flickering, then this could be a battery issue. Hence, cleaning and maintaining your battery during the summer months is essential.

Besides taking it to a professional if needed, you can maintain and care for your battery at home. You can use a spoonful of baking soda and distilled water and apply the solution to the battery’s terminals. Use a wire battery terminal brush to clean it. After cleaning it to your satisfaction, use a rag or lint-free cloth to wipe it clean. Moreover, to check your battery’s voltage, use a multimeter. A good battery’s voltage should range anywhere from 12.6 to 14.4.

Examine Your Tires

Tire maintenance during the summer is very much needed for safety purposes. With the increase in temperature, the air pressure in your tires can also increase, resulting in it bursting or exploding. To avoid overinflation, regular maintenance is paramount. Check for any bulge, wear or crack in your tires and get it inspected at least once or twice a month by a professional mechanic. Replace tires if you see that they are worn out and if it is a cause of concern for your safety and those around you. You can also use a tire pressure gauge to regularly check the pressure of your tire to ensure efficiency and safety.

Monitor Your Cooling System

Another crucial step in your car care process is monitoring your cooling system. Your cooling system plays a major role in avoiding overheating of your car, hence, proper care of the cooling system is indispensable.

Check your coolant levels as often as possible and ensure that it is at the said level. Don’t forget to also check if the coolant is clean, if it’s not, consider flushing it out and changing it for a better impact. If the level of your coolant is very low, it could be due to leaks. Hence, inspect hoses and belts for cracks or signs of wear. Also, check your radiator, it is the heart of your cooling system, hence, any dirt or debris that can obstruct the airflow, needs to be removed. Make sure to replace all parts that are damaged.

Check Your Air Conditioner

No one wants to sit in a car that doesn’t have a properly functioning air conditioner during the summer. The scorching heat and a broken AC in your car can ruin a fun summer road trip or just about even a regular day. Hence, it’s essential that you check your air conditioner as often. Problems that you could encounter with your AC during the summer months are clogged filters, low refrigerant levels or malfunctioning compressors. If you notice that the air coming out is not as cool as it should be or if there’s some noise, then you should immediately get it professionally checked out and serviced.

Maintain the Fluid Levels and Quality

Whether it’s your engine oil, coolant or transmission fluids, any fluid in your car helps in reducing friction and heat build-up. Therefore, it’s critical that you check for low fluid levels or dirty fluid. Flush out or change them if they look dark and dirty, and increase levels if they are not as needed. Most importantly, add fluids that are recommended for your car, this will ensure efficiency. Also, when performing a fluid or an oil change, ensure that you use an oil drain pan or an oil drain tank to avoid any spillage or mess.

Simple Heat Protection Tips for Your Car

Simple measures can be very effective in protecting your car from overheating. Here are a few heat protection tips for you.

• Park your car in the shade to save it from overheating. The temperature inside will be low and the exterior of your car will not be as hot as it would if you parked it out in the open where there’s no shade.
• To avoid any damage to your seats and steering wheel, use covers to protect them.
• Use sunshades and window tints to keep away the heat from entering your car.
• To ensure no damage is done to the paint of your car due to the sun, use a coat of wax for protection.
• Use car covers for protection. This is one of the best ways to ensure the temperature inside the car is comparatively low as well as the exterior of your car isn’t burning up as well.
• Regularly wash and remove all dirt and debris to avoid it from getting dried up on the exterior of your car, resulting in prematurely wearing of the paint.

Summer Maintenance Kit for Emergencies

Whether you are going on a trip with your family and friends or you’re staying home, it’s always important to be prepared for the summer in case of an automotive emergency. Having an emergency kit while traveling or at home is always helpful.

Here are a few basic things that your kit should have if you do not have access to a professional immediately.

Tips to Prepare for Road Trips During Summers

Despite the heat, come summer, and road trips and vacations become a priority. Taking some time off with your family and friends can be rejuvenating. However, before you go on one, whether it’s a long or a short road trip, you have to be well-prepared before you start your journey.

• Carry your basic emergency kit. It should include all that you could require for your basic needs – from a tool kit to coolants and comfort to a safety kit. This ensures you will be prepared for any expected circumstance.
• Make sure to inspect your car, internally and externally before your trip. Check fluid levels, the tire, and the battery. Besides checking all of this a day before you start, it’s advisable to also be prepared and check for any uncalled-for situation 3-4 days before at least to avoid any last-moment hassle on the day of your journey.
• It is extremely important to carry a lot of water. It’s not just needed for your car but also for you and your passengers to stay hydrated.
• Plan your trip with as many breaks as possible. Continuously driving can result in overheating of your car. Taking breaks can help your car to cool down as well as give you some time to rest.
• Carry sunshades to protect yourself and the people with you. Also, make sure to take your car cover, it’s comes very handy and protects your car from all that heat when parked in the open for long hours.

Professional Servicing of Your Car in Summer

While there are some maintenance tasks that you can do by yourself such as refilling coolants or engine oils, checking the air pressure of your tire and replacing it, having a professional inspect and service your car can be very beneficial. However, make sure that the professional you take your car to is licensed. You can always check reviews and ask friends or your family members to recommend one.

Here’s why you should consider regular professional servicing of your car.

• Regular professional servicing will help maintain your car better, resulting in its longevity.
• Having a professional mechanic inspect your car will help catch on any problem much earlier, thereby, avoiding potential mishaps.
• A professional comes with skillsets that you might not have, hence, the outcome is much more efficient.
• Professionals always have the correct tools to diagnose and fix a problem.
• They guarantee your safety.

The rising temperature during the summer can majorly impact your car, hence, it’s crucial you understand how important it is for you to maintain and protect it for its smooth functioning. Not doing so will result in uncalled-for situations and major accidents. Therefore, you should take your car care seriously and ensure regular maintenance.