Published on : 10 July 20204 min reading time
The summer sun has arrived and it’s even hot! Do you know that we are not the only ones suffering from heat? What are the right things to do to avoid further damage? How to maintain your car during the heat wave?
– Have a good coolant level: The LDR (coolant) allows the engine to avoid overheating. You can easily look at his level and top it up if necessary. Be sure to add the same coolant as the one already present in the expansion tank. When in doubt and if your LDR no longer has all its antifreeze properties, it is better to change it completely.
– Fill up in the morning: Fuel tanks are buried in the ground and the temperature of the ground affects the density by volume. As soon as temperatures rise, fuels expand. Moreover, often in the light, we can see with the naked eye the vapours that emanate from the gun in the form of ripples in the air. So, 1L of fuel displayed at the pump does not exactly match 1L in your car’s tank.
– Open the windows before turning on the air conditioning: it’s so hot outside that you’re tempted to turn on the air conditioning directly when you get in the car, but it’s not the best thing to do to get fresh quickly. Indeed, the higher the temperature of the passenger compartment, the longer it will take for it to come down. The ideal solution is to roll the open windows for a few minutes first so that the air can circulate and then turn on the air conditioning. If you make short trips, it is even advisable to keep the windows open because the air conditioning system does not like to work for a few minutes and then turn off and on.
– Putting a sun visor on: The sun visor on the windshield reduces the temperature of the passenger compartment by several degrees, that’s more like it, isn’t it? In addition, you can find them for about ten euros in supermarkets. Ideally, prefer those with a suction cup that ensure a good fixing. If you do not have a sun visor, you can put a towel on the dashboard and steering wheel, especially if you have metal parts.
– Covering leather seats: Just like the windshield and dashboard that literally get hot in the sun, leather seats can quickly get hot. So either you have a sun visor that will limit direct sunlight on the seats or you opt for seat covers or small towels on the seat during hot weather.
– Parking in the shade: Basic advice and always good to remember. Try to park in a place protected from direct sunlight as much as possible. Trees do the trick for nothing better. It is of course ideal to park your car in a garage or carport under cover because the sun’s UV rays damage the bodywork. If your parking area is a safe place, you can slightly open the windows to allow air to circulate.
– Don’t leave water bottles in the passenger compartment: plastic water bottles can have a magnifying effect on your car seats by concentrating the sun’s rays and literally creating a fire start.
– Put wax on your car’s body: When you clean your car, you can add wax on the cold body at the end. This may be a good way to protect the body from the sun’s UV rays, but it is not eternal.
– Seals dry out in the sun: To limit drying out and wear of seals in the sun, you can apply silicone grease. In practice, you spray the product on the joints and wipe off the excess with a cloth. Here is a tip: You can do this before summer and before winter because frost tends to damage the joints as well.
– Protecting the battery: Both heat and cold have a negative impact on the battery. Do not leave the contact to listen to the radio and to operate the cooler. If you make short trips to the city most often, try at least once a month to make a trip of several hours to fully recharge the battery.
– Maintain the air conditioning: I advise you to clean the circuit every year to eliminate bacteria that can settle in the ducts. This is a warning signal if you smell moisture and mildew as soon as you turn on the air conditioning.
Every summer, the car centres offer air conditioning promotions and overhauls to check the state of the refrigerant liquid and top it up if necessary.