The long, hot summer days can be exhausting and especially brutal on our cars. If you’re not careful, the dog days of August can lead to your vehicle overheating, causing severe damage to the engine.

To help drivers avoid a disaster like that, we’ve put together a brief guide on how to help your car beat the heat this summer and stay cool.

Contents

How to Protect Your Car Against the Summer Heat

1. Check Your Fluids

Just like us, cars get overheated when they become dehydrated. An overheated engine can malfunction and sustain severe and unrepairable damage when it doesn’t have the proper fluid levels. Therefore, you should keep an eye on the fluids.

Your coolant is especially critical in the summer. It’s not just anti-freeze for the winter—coolant protects engine parts from overheating and experiencing catastrophic damage. Other fluids you should check and top off in the summer include:

Motor oil
Brake fluid
Transmission fluid
Washer fluid

2. Keep Tires at Optimum Pressure

In the summer, temperatures can fluctuate wildly in just an hour or two, leading to problems for your tires. A rapid temperature change can lead to your tires losing optimal pressure. And an underinflated tire means less fuel efficiency, more wear-and-tear, and even the possibility of a blowout.

The hot asphalt roads of summer can also do a number on your vehicle’s tires. If you’re planning a summer road trip, inspect your tires’ pressure and tread and watch them throughout to ensure safety on the highways.

3. Inspect the AC System

If there’s one thing we need from our car in the summer, it’s the AC. You probably haven’t used your vehicle’s air conditioning in a while, so give it a test before the temperatures rise to ensure its functionality.

Pro-Tip: When cooling a hot car, utilize your vehicle’s lower vents by your feet and crack the windows open so that the warm air rises above the cool air and out of the vehicle.

Freon is the gas refrigerant your vehicle uses to blow cold air. If you notice your car’s AC isn’t cooling down, it’s likely a leak in the system that’s letting this out. Get the system checked out immediately to get your AC working again and ensure there are no leaks.

4. Park in the Shade

One of the everyday things that can damage your car’s paint job is the sun’s damaging UV rays. Summer is when the sun is most destructive. Therefore, if you commute and park outside during the day, look for shade.

UV rays cause a car’s paint to age and fade quicker. Find some shade but avoid large trees—tree sap also harms your vehicle’s paint. So do bird droppings!

Now you know how to help your car beat the heat this summer. The crucial thing to remember is to watch your vehicle’s fluids and tires carefully and keep it out of the sun as much as possible.

Check out: 3 Fun and Effective Ways to Customize Your Sports Car