We all know just how brutal the summer heat can be around Houston. Triple-digit temperatures and high humidity are par for the course, but what can often be overlooked is the debilitating effects these conditions can have on your car. MyFord Magazine released a helpful article full of tips on how to keep your Ford running smoothly during the hottest months of the year, as well as tips for keeping yourself and your passengers comfortable in the blazing Texas heat.
When your car has been sitting in the hot sun, waiting for the air conditioning to kick in can feel like an endurance test. To cool your car down as quickly as possible, it is best to put the air conditioning on full blast and set it to blow from the lower vents, with the windows rolled down. This will help push the hot air up and out of your car. Also, while the recirculate function (the button with a silhouette of a car and a circular arrow on your climate control panel) works well when the air conditioning is already blowing cold, it is not as effective when you’re initially trying to cool your car off. This is because it draws air from the interior of the car, and since the air in your car is well in excess of 100 degrees at this point, it will take much longer to cool down.
This will seem obvious as a way to keep your car cooler, but it is always best to find a shady spot in which to park. This is not always possible, so it is useful to have high-quality sun shades for your front and rear windows. Using sun shades will also help protect the interior of your car from the damaging effects of ultraviolet rays. Leaving your windows cracked gives the hot air trapped in your car a way to circulate out of the cabin as well.
These tips can help keep you cool in your car during the summer, but the intense heat can have more long-term consequences for the health of your car. Regular maintenance checks and cursory inspections of your tire pressure, coolant, and battery will help keep your car healthy in the heat. There are other things to factor in as well, and these guidelines can be found in the MyFord article here. Keeping up with scheduled maintenance can greatly extend the life of your car, so consult your owner’s manual and schedule your next service visit at Randall Reed’s Planet Ford in Humble, TX (serving Houston, Conroe, Katy, and Atascocita)!