Car Maintenance Tips to Help You Beat the Heat in California
What if you had sentenced your car to death, one day at a time?
In the heat of summer, that’s exactly what countless California drivers are doing each year. They don’t realize that good car insurance isn’t enough to protect their vehicle; it takes proper maintenance to help an automobile beat the heat. And now that we are experiencing the hottest days in the recorded history of the planet, proper maintenance can be the difference in whether your vehicle will make it to the end of the year or not.
Ready to keep your vehicle safe no matter the heat? Keep reading to discover our top tips for summer car maintenance.
Help Your Car Keep Its California “Cool”
Some of the most effective hot weather car care tips are very straightforward. For example, your automobile uses coolant to keep the engine from overheating. That means that a big part of preventing heat-related car problems is as simple as monitoring your car’s coolant level and adding more as needed.
If you don’t want to take your ride to a professional mechanic, it’s easy enough to keep an eye on this by checking the overflow reservoir and adding more coolant as needed. This will also give you a chance to make sure the rubber coolant system isn’t cracked, leaking, or otherwise looking like it needs repair.
Inspect the Air Conditioner
Even if your car has all the coolant it needs for the engine, that doesn’t mean you won’t be experiencing major heat on the inside of the vehicle during any given California summer. That’s because the cabin temperature is dictated largely by the automobile’s air conditioning system, and if that system is in poor condition, the interior will feel like an oven.
If the A/C just blows hot air when you first turn it on, don’t worry; it may take a minute to cool, and even longer on a hot summer day. But if the system never blows cool air, works intermittently, or otherwise acts up, you need to take it to a professional mechanic. Your car may just need some new refrigerant, but if the problem goes deeper, your mechanic can diagnose and hopefully repair the issue.
Regularly Check Your Tire Pressure
While it’s always important to monitor your tire pressure, it becomes even more important in the summer because this is when you are likeliest to experience a blowout. Why is that, exactly? To start with, tires often get damaged during the winter, both due to extreme cold and the extremity of use (for example, making long drives to visit family during the holidays).
On top of that, the summer shift to extreme heat means that overinflated tires could easily pop, putting you and your entire family in danger. To keep this from happening, frequently monitor the tire pressure and keep each tire between 30 and 35 PSI.
Don’t Forget to Test the Battery
Obviously, there’s no bad season to test your car’s battery, but it’s particularly important to do so during the summer. That’s because hot weather can cause the battery to lose power more swiftly and to get corroded and damaged to the point that it needs to be replaced.
To make matters worse, summer is a high travel season, and that means your battery could die when you are visiting a city or state for the first time, especially one outside California. But as long as you stay on top of your battery’s health and replace it when needed, you’ll never have to worry about getting stranded in the middle of nowhere on a hot summer day.
Replace Your Dirty Filters
You might have a local mechanic that always encourages you to change out your car’s filters. Throughout the year, you may be tempted to decline the offer. But trust us, when California summer is here, it really is time to replace your old and dirty filters.
Filters help to prevent debris and dirt from damaging your engine while you drive. And as previously noted, you’re likelier to be driving more in the summer, which puts your car at enhanced risk. But if you replace your cabin air filter and engine air filter before the summer season starts, you can keep the engine safe throughout the warmer months.
Protect Your Car from Everything Under the California Sun
Now you know our top tips for keeping your car cool in summer. But do you know how you can protect your automobile from the unexpected all year round?
At Cost-U-Less, we’re here to provide California drivers the car insurance they need at prices that will make them think it must be a summer mirage. Ready to protect your car throughout the year and give it the treatment it deserves? Call us at (800) 390-4071 or get a fast and free car insurance quote online. You can also find a nearby office and visit us in person.
