How to Protect Your Car in the Heat

It’s no surprise that intense heat and sunlight can damage your car. UV rays are harmful to your car’s exterior, just like they’re harmful to you. If it’s 21°C outside, the inside of your car can reach 40°C very quickly. Temperatures have even been recorded up to 78°C after longer periods in sunlight. These temperatures can cause problems to the interior and even the engine of your car.

It’s important to protect the interior and exterior of your car and make sure your engine carries on working correctly in the heat. Our guide has some helpful tips for steps you can take to safeguard your car this summer.

Park in the Shade

This is the easiest way to protect your car from the heat. If you have the option, always park your car in shadier areas so it won’t heat up as quickly. You can also use indoor parking, like a garage or car park, to keep your car cool.

Use a Windshield Protector

If shady parking isn’t available to you, you could use a windshield protector. You can also get sunshades for your car windows to further increase protection. This won’t help the exterior, but it will reflect the sun’s rays and help the inside of your car to keep cool. As well as keeping the temperature inside low, they can also shield your upholstery from damage caused by UV rays.

Wash and Wax Your Car

Debris on your car can react to the heat as well as the sun’s rays and cause your paintwork to fade. Washing your car regularly in hot weather will prevent this from happening.

You should also wax your car at least twice a year to protect the exterior. This is especially important in hot weather as the wax will help lock in the natural oils on your paint work to keep it protected. Also, shiny cars will reflect heat much better than dirty cars, which will absorb heat. So, keeping your car clean and shiny will also help to keep it cool.

Keep Your Interior Clean

Dirt and debris can react with the sun’s rays to damage your interior in the same way it can damage your exterior. You should make sure the inside of your car is kept clean of dust. There are special products you can buy that can give additional protection to your car’s upholstery, like leather or vinyl protections.

Crack Your Windows – If it’s Safe

If you’re parked on your driveway or in a safe area, it can help to leave the windows open a little bit. This will increase the air flow in your car and decrease the inside temperature to help protect your upholstery and dashboard. This can cause a security risk though, so only do so if you are confident it’s safe.

Regularly Check Tyre Pressure

Tyre pressure can fluctuate a lot during the summer with the changing temperatures. Hot temperatures can increase the pressure in your tyres and cause overinflation. If your tyre is underinflated and you’re driving on a hot road, there will be more surface area which can overheat and cause a blow-out. You should aim to check your tyre pressure on cooler days and make sure it’s inflated to the manufacturer’s specifications.

Regularly Check the Fluid Levels

Coolant should be regularly topped up to ensure it’s at the max level. Make sure to leave your engine to cool before opening the radiator cap – wait at least an hour after using the car. You should also regularly check your oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid and brake fluid to ensure they’re at the correct levels. If any need topping up, check your manufacturer’s guide to make sure you get the correct type of fluid to do so.

Get your AC Serviced

If your AC isn’t keeping your interior cool, it may need a service. There could be an issue with a part, or it may just need the gas levels topped up. Make sure to take your car to a mechanic to get the AC properly looked at so you can keep cool whilst driving.

Have your Battery Checked

High temperatures and high use of the battery – excessive use can be caused by using the AC – can cause the battery to wear out. Also, excessive fluid evaporation caused by high temperatures can cause a battery to fail too. Get your battery regularly checked by a professional to ensure it’s working properly. If your batter requires fluid top ups, make sure to keep checking the levels in hot weather to prevent failure.

Following these tips should help protect your car against any damage from the heat. However, if you’re looking for a new car, Euphoria Finance can help. We are experts in helping to secure fast car finance. With our simple car finance service, you can borrow from £3,000 to £25,000, and we even offer poor credit car finance for those who struggle to access car finance with other providers.

We have a huge range current vehicles for you to check out. You could have your new car delivered to you this week.