Summer Car care tips

Introduction

It’s that time of the year again when the sun is bright, the mangoes are in full bloom and everyone just wants to spend time indoors and preferably in front of an AC. Sounds like paradise? Well, we believe that your car would feel so too (if it had feelings) and so, why not give it some love and care that would help it cope through the summer months. So here then are some tips for keeping not just your car cool but yourself too, while being out on the road.

Car Care Tips

A. Fully functioning AC
Nowadays, excluding the absolute base models of the A and A+-segment cars, every car is offered with a basic air conditioning unit as standard. You get various cool settings and fan speeds as a part of these units. Our top tip here is to ensure that your AC unit is in top working order as it will be the thing that keeps you cool all summer. We recommend you take your car to your authorised service centre to ensure this is done professionally and as per the rules of your respective manufacturer.

B. Check coolant levels
While the AC keeps you cool, the coolant that the engine uses keeps it cool. So, when you get your AC checked, it’s a good idea to check your coolant levels too. We would once again advice you to get this done professionally as coolant is toxic stuff for human beings and should be handled by trained and experienced hands.

C. Keeps shades
The government had banned the use of window tint in 2010 as a security measure and despite great advances in glass technology since then, the loss of window tint is noticeable. To counter this we would suggest you install suction cup mountable semi-transparent window shades. These comply with the law but at the same time also help you stay cool in the car.

D. Drinking water
You might be sitting in the car with AC on and keeping cool but this has a hidden consequence. Because your environment is essentially dry and you have the sun shining on you directly, dehydration sets in pretty quickly. Drink lots of water and if possibly get an electrolyte mix to ensure your body doesn’t lose precious minerals and vitamins during your drive.

E. Take a break every 2 hours
If you are driving for a sustained period, stop and take a break every two hours. Get out of the car and stretch your body in its entirety so that you do not get cramps anywhere. If you are sharing the drive with another person, then swap drivers every two hours so that you are not overcome by fatigue.

F. Right tyres pressures
One of the key things to achieve good fuel efficiency is to keep your tyres inflated to the right pressure. Every manufacturer has a recommended tyre pressure for the front and rear marked into the driver’s side door by means of stamping or a sticker. Maintaining the right tyre pressure will also give you better control, prevent your tyres from over-heating which would lead to damage to connected components like the wheels, brakes and body parts.

F. Don’t leave kids or pets locked in the car when it is parked
The temperature inside a car parked out in the sun can sometime be as much as five degrees higher than what it is outside and in India, for the most part, this is pretty lethal even for an adult. So image then how this would be for a child or a pet that struggles to regulate its body temperature and this is why you should not leave children or pets locked in the car even with the AC on.

G. Park in the shade or keep a window slightly open
Lastly, we would advise you to park in a shady spot to ensure that your car keeps cool when it is parked. As a part of this, we would also advise you to leave one of the windows open by just a minor crack to ensure that there is some breeze coming through the car. However, ensure that this bit that you leave open is not large enough for someone to put their hands or any foreign object through.