Summerize Your Ride: Help Your Car Beat the Heat

Whether you’re a long-term vehicle owner, an occasional car-share driver, or simply have been exposed to cars and their relationship to weather, you know that the former is directly affected by the latter.  Even if your vehicle is an all-weather, all-conditions, all-wheel sort of getup, there are always considerations to be made when it comes to helping our cars adapt to their environment.

The thing is, when we think of making adjustments to our cars/trucks/SUV’s, the picture that comes to mind – more often than not – are all winter-related.  Folks talk about snow tires and high beams, new wipers and keeping your tank half full.  And all of these are great for cold conditions. But what about when it gets hot.  What is the protocol for readying your vehicle for beating sun, humidity, dryness, thunderstorms, and any the other summer surprises?

Well, you’ve dropped into the right place, poking around our eTags blog, because here is a handy-dandy list of tips to help you summerize your ride. (Yes, we are using a word that may or may not be found in the dictionary.)

1. Assess your AC system.

Before the temps get too hot, be sure that your air conditioning is in tip-top shape.  It is not unheard of for Freon (coolant) to leak a bit during the winter, so testing those levels can help avoid a sticky start to cooling your car in summer. This simple checkup can be done for little to no cost while you’re at your trusted mechanic.

2. Test your battery.

A weak battery can easily suffer a TKO in hot weather. But you may not know your battery’s gone enough rounds unless you give it a once over.  It often ends up being much more economical to have your power level checked (and possibly replace it) than waiting until it dies unexpectedly and factoring other costs such as jumpstarts and tow trucks.

3. Fill your fluids.

Changes in weather conditions can cause your fluid levels to fluctuate.  It’s a good idea to check and top off all your liquids right at the start of a new season. The few to focus on are:

• Transmission fluid
• Power steering fluid
• Coolant (this is extra important in summer to keep your car from overheating)
• Windshield wiper fluid

4. Review your wipers.

If your windshield wipers are not in optimal condition, you stand to find yourself squinting through summer storms, dust, sand, or pollen while driving.  And even if you’re wipers are kind of okay (we can just hear the “but they’re sorta fine” excuse!), know that heat and sun can cause the rubber blades of the wipers to deteriorate. So if you are on the fence about replacing the wipers, our suggestion is: do it!

5. Apprise your tire pressure.

Winter weather may have done a number on your four rubber doughnuts, and you haven’t even realized.  (Think: salt, ice, freezing, thawing) And because summer is the season for road trips, you will want to be sure your tires are up for the job. Many cars have automatic tire pressure sensors, but if your vehicle doesn’t, it’s smart to have that pressure checked.

6. Fix those filters.

Your car’s air filters are extremely important in all weather conditions. But especially in summer when you’ve got the AC blasting, you’ll want to be sure that your filters are actually filtering, keeping both pollen and pollutants out of your vehicle and out of your lungs. That, and a troubled filter system can ostensibly lead to larger (more expensive) issues with your entire AC system.  Sooooo, get those filters fixed.

7. Inspect your belts and hoses.

All those snake-y, rubbery, connect-y doodads under your hood are essential for your vehicle’s running properly.  And similar to wiper maintenance, rubber goods tend to dry and crack from the heat. Instead of waiting for a belt or hose to succumb to the summer sun, we recommend taking a peak at the start of the hot season to make sure they’re still in bend-y, peak condition.  And as with all things automobile related, it’s way more cost effective to replace a questionable part than to wait for it to completely break down.

8. Be sure of your brakes.

Another post-winter, pre-summer suggestion that can’t steer your wrong: get your brakes into the brake doctor.  Winter (poor winter, the culprit of so many car catastrophes!) can do a number on your stopping gear, so before the long hot drives, it’s good to know you can rely on your vehicle’s ability to come to a quick and complete stop. And even if your brakes seem to be working fine, but have started to make some noise, it’s more than recommended to get any new sounds checked out.

9. Change your oil AND filter.

One of the easiest ways to keep your car running smoothly is to get regular oil changes.  But when you replace the filter too, it’s like sending your ride on holiday, booking it a massage and a full week of paid vacation. In other words, it comes back to you almost good as new, proving that all the time at the beach (the mechanic), and all the money spent on tours and spas and cocktails (oil and filter change) was really, really worth it.

10. Protect your paint.

This one’s a bonus, but we thought it was worth sharing. If you live in a place (or will be visiting a spot) with lots of sand, summer hail, or if you’re the type of person who loves regular car washes, you stand to risk a bit of damage to your car’s paint. An easy way to remedy this is to get a nice coat of wax on your vehicle’s body. It’s an easy way to help maintain the factory finish of your car/truck/SUV no matter what gets pelted at it.

And there you have them: ten tips to summerize your ride. And because it’s our thing here at eTags to be super helpful whenever we can, keep in mind that for all things auto related, you can always head to our site.  Titles, tags, and transfers….we’re here to help!