Keeping your car cool during a hot summer
Last Update: 6/25/2009 8:46 am
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The onset of summer means taking precautions to keep you cool and just as your body needs extra attention during the heat, so does your vehicle. Mechanics say overheating causes more problems than you might imagine.
During the summer time, people are hitting the roads and traveling more, but if your vehicle isn't being serviced properly, you could be in for a rougher trip than you bargained for. We've all seen it a driver having to pull over because of an overheated car.
"On a daily basis, we have issues checking with cooling systems,” says Michael Wylie of All About Tire in Mabelvale.
He’s working hard to fix what high temperatures and poor maintenance have caused.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist, just some common sense. Check your gauges, if you smell something, just anything out of the ordinary, simple things as far as checking hoses. They can age with time,” Wylie explains.
It’s not just your engine that you need to be concerned with. The summer heat can also take its toll on your tires.
“Heat is the number one failure of rubber. If they go low, the worse thing can happen to tires is get too hot and that causes the blowouts on the road,” Wylie points out. Not to mention, it can negatively affect your gas mileage.
Mechanics recommend you check all the fluids in your vehicle this summer and make sure your temperature gauge is in the middle to avoid overheating. Otherwise, "You'll have steam coming out, maybe something pouring out and maybe some noises that shouldn't be there."
That could be just the beginning. "You can cause major engine failure. You can cause head gaskets to blow which could lead to other internal problems. Basically you're just looking at a lot of unnecessary costs and time that you're going to be out,” Wylie said. "You can prevent a lot of these disasters."
He recommends making sure you have a good mix of 50 percent water and 50 percent anti-freeze in your car. This will help it perform the way it should and keep the engine cool when the temperature outside is anything but cool.
Also if you are in an emergency and your car overheats, Wylie says you can turn your heater up on full blast. This could help get you running again, but he says it should only be applied in dire situations until you can get to safety and get your car checked out.
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