While it’s often said how tough winter can be on vehicles, summer’s intense heat and sunshine can be just as damaging to your car. Prepare your car for the summer by following our simple tips below.
Get It Clean
The first thing you should do after a winter of driving on salty roads and spring’s pollen sticking to your car’s exterior is to get a quality car wash and detail. You want your vehicle to face summer at full strength, and the first step to making it like new is ensuring it’s as clean as a whistle.
Vacuum, wipe down the entire interior, and handwash the outside to clean it without damaging the paint. If you haven’t put on a wax sealant in months, add a new coat of wax for extra protection from UV rays.
Check Tires & Tire Pressure
Summer can be an especially tough season on tires, with the sizzling-hot blacktops, high-speed travel, and long-distance trips, so you want to ensure they’re fit for summer travel. You should manually check your tire pressure frequently instead of relying on a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), as those can be notoriously misleading.
You can even check tire pressure without a gauge, so there’s no excuse. Inspect your tire’s tread depth and give it the penny test to see if it has enough tread to last the summer. If not, it’s better to replace them sooner rather than later.
Top Off Fluids
Your car requires a lot of fluids to operate effectively, and the intense summer heat can dry those fluids quickly, so it’s wise to check them before the hot weather arrives. Take a thorough accounting of the fluid levels in your car, including:
- Brake fluid
- Coolant
- Transmission fluid
- Power steering fluid
- Windshield wiper fluid
Even if the fluids aren’t low, it’s wise to top them off before summer hits.
Test the Battery
Our last tip for preparing your car for the summer is to inspect and test the battery. The battery is another area of the car that the summer season can be tough on. Most drivers think winter is brutal on car batteries, but summer’s intense weather can damage your car’s battery as much as winter can.
Inspect your car’s battery and ensure the connections are clean and solid. Then, take the car in for a battery test. If the battery is near the end of its life, it’s better to replace it before it suddenly dies and leaves you stranded.
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