Car Care in Summer: How To Take Care of Your Car During Summer
Summers are here! And, we all know how hard it is to deal with the heat. Summer has an effect on all of us, not just humans, but cars too.
It is important that you take extra care of your car during this hot season
Let us discuss some important tips to keep in mind for the same.
As the scorching season is almost here, we must be prepared for it. To help you out, we are here with some tips for car care in summer season.
1. Pay Special Attention to The Cooling System
The coolant system plays the most important role in cooling the car’s engine and its mechanicals, so check the level of the coolant in the reservoir. Check for leaks and coolant consumption possible signs of head gasket wear or failure.
Cross Check your radiator lid frequently to make sure it hasn’t slipped. Also, be conscious when the engine is on and heated, so wait for it to cool before opening the lid, as the fluid is at boiling temperature and can cause injuries.
2. keep oil filter neat, clean and tidy in summer
During intense weather conditions (hot/cold), put extra demands on your oil and oil filter, as the oil helps in keeping the engine parts lubricated, assuring the proper functioning of all the mechanicals and sidestepping from overheating of the engine.
While the oil filter helps in sieving unwanted particles, dirt, and metal elements that have made their way into the oil system of your vehicle. The oil filter should be cleaned frequently for better engine performance.
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3. car care in summer demands clean Air Filter
Air filter is responsible for maintaining clean and ample air flow in the car’s cooling system.
If the air filter is clogged then it affects adversely on the cooling system of the car, which in turn can increase the heat under your car’s bonnet.
We know in summer season the outside temperature is already super high, so we need to try to keep the heat away as much as possible from the engine.
In short, do get the air filter checked on your next maintenance, as summer season has started.
Air Filters prevent dust, dirt, and debris from entering the engine through the air intake pipe. The drainage points of air filter on your car may be obstructed by debris, so make sure to clean the air filter fairly regularly to maintain the performance and efficiency of the engine.
Try cleaning your vehicle’s air filter every 15,000 miles, and if you are located in a rural area, you may need to clean the air filter more often, as there is more dirt and dust on the road.
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4. Save your Car Battery
Dirt and corrosion have a negative impact on your battery’s performance, as dirt may act as a conductor and drain your battery health instantly. Summarily, corrosion on the vehicle’s battery terminal will act as an insulator, hampering the current flow and causing your battery to work much harder to do its job.
To enhance battery life, avoid parking your vehicle in direct sunlight, instead park in a shade which will help in reducing the temperature by a few Celsius under the hood and avoiding the battery from heat damage.
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5. monitor Tire Pressure for car care in summer
Everytime there is an increase of 10 degree celsius in the temperature, the tire pressure increases by 0.1 bar. The summer seasons cause frequent change in air pressure of the tires. In excessive hot regions the tires over inflate. This might cause them to pop.
Please ensure that you check the tire pressure more often and don’t just rely on the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) in your car. Because the old cars do not alert when the tires are over inflated, they only alert when they are under inflated. The modern cars however, are well advanced in this technology.
6. Brakes
The brakes function because of the friction between the brake pads and the tires. In any weather or season, be it summer or winter this friction causes heat. During summers the temperature is already high and thus it causes more stress on the brakes of the car.
The brake fluid is engineered to handle high internal temperatures, yet in excessive heat it gets overheated. So the brakes need proper heat dissipation. Please check if the brake pads are well and good and the brake fluids before summer.
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7. Windshield Wipers
During summers, sudden showers may take place, so ensure that your vehicle’s wipers are in good and functional condition. Wiper blades are also subjected to heat, which tends to decrease their life and leave scratches on the windshield due to continuous contact.
Inspect your wiper blades for cracks, broken frame arms, joints, corrosion of metal parts, and top up the wiper fluid. Without wiper fluid, the wiper blade won’t function properly resulting in rubber and windshield damage.
8. Air Conditioning
If your vehicle’s air conditioning (A/C) has stopped functioning properly, it’s time to get it fixed to beat the upcoming summer season.
Maintaining an adequate temperature inside the car during summers is important for the interior elements and our body as well.
Clean the air filter placed below your dashboard with water if required, inspect the drive belt attached to the compressor and gas pipelines minutely in order to avoid any malfunctions in the working of your car’s air conditioning.
Please ensure that your air conditioning (A/C) is functioning properly. Maintaining an adequate temperature inside the car during summers is important for the interiors of the cars.
When your car is parked for a while the temperature inside the car rises terribly high. Having a good functioning A/C helps you get the temperature low quickly.
You need your car to smell fresh at all times, specifically during summers. Having clean AC air filters will give you fresh air when everyone else is drowning in the summer heat. Moreover, there are more pollens in the air during summers. If you or any of your family members are allergic to pollen, you need to prioritise the cleaning or replacing of the Air Filter.
Summers also increase the occurrence of sandstorms. If you travel frequently towards the desserts, you must have them either changed or replaced.
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9. Keep Interiors Clean
If you travel along with kids in your car, make sure to clean the surface and throw out the plastic wrappers as, during summers, these elements lead to heat and moisture in the interiors of the car.
10. Do not park in direct sunlight
If parked in direct sun, the inside temperature of the car rises to 40 – 50 degrees Celsius, so getting inside a car if it is parked directly under the sun is very tough and it becomes a furnace. Also, the interior plastic materials tend to degrade and dim over years.
So make sure to leave a slight gap in the window, so that hot air and vapours inside the cabin of the car could escape, use the windshield sunshades to avoid direct sunlight from entering, and lastly, never leave your pets or children locked inside the car when parked in direct sun.
Wrap Up: Car Care During Summer
During the summer season be prepared for emergencies and keep your kit ready. Include essentials like jumper cables, flashlight, spare wheel with a toolkit, reflective triangles, first aid kit, GPS navigation system and ample amount of bottled drinking water.
Please get your car service and check if there is any trouble with the spare parts of the car as well.
