Car maintenance in summer is a challenging task. Summer heat can affect your car’s performance and may result in breakdown. The summer care is little different than the other seasons. It will help to prevent some common problems faced in summer. In this article, we will discus these problems and how to prevent them.
- Battery: In winter, batteries go to near dead condition. They are not reliable by the cold. In summer, because of excess heat, the batteries internally get chemical changes reactions. This leads to less durability. Make sure to get batteries checked by professional mechanics. If you find any problems, replace the battery.
- Serpentine belts: These belts are useful to keep operating many mechanical systems of the vehicle. These include electrical charging system, air conditioning, power steering, cooling system and other major components. In modern engines, there is only one belt that can operate all these systems mechanically. When it fails all the related machinery will not work. So maintenance of these belts is important.
When the season changes, temperature change affects rubber components of the belt. So check for any cracks and signs to change the belt. Many experts said that the changing of belt is better between 36,000 to 48,000 miles to avoid problems down the road.
- Tires: The tire pressure changes with change in temperature. Proper maintenance of pressure or inflation of the tire is essential for fuel efficiency and control over the car. The winter tires will make to consume more fuel in the summer. So change them. Appropriate tread is a must. One of the major problems in summer with tires is punctures. You can avoid this with proper tread in tires.
- Air filter: Inspect the air filters for any filthy or dusty. If the filter is dirty or blocking the air change it. The dirty filters affect the engine and the more fuel will it consume to get air through the dirty filter. Most of the drivers change the air filter for every twelve thousand miles. If the car is traveling on the high dust area need to be replaced more earlier. In summer, the roads have dry dust particles which are likely get accumulate in the air filter and make affect its performance.
- Brakes: If the car brake pedal is hard and resistant, soft and mushy or produces constant and loud scraping noises, it indicates the time to replace these brakes with new ones. Fixing brakes can prevent a costly problems in the future. So check with the mechanic for brake working condition, brake pads, discs and brake fluids.
- Coolant: Check the engine coolant level. It should be between the minimum and the maximum level of the tank. If you find it low, take the help of professionals. Regardless of any maintenance, sometimes the engine gets overheated. In this case, turn on the heater to full and activate your air conditioner until the problem lessens.
Following these tips, you can ensure as maximum performance as possible.