During the summer, you need your car working at its best for road trips, vacations, or just rides around town. While the summer is a great time to take your car out on the road, the heat can be dangerous to your car. Instead of risking heat-related break-downs, you can follow a few car summer maintenance tips to keep your car in great shape all summer long.
4 Car and Tire Maintenance Tips for the Summer
Whether it’s your engine, tires, fluids, or battery, heat can seriously strain your car’s most important parts. Fortunately, receiving some inspections and maintenance services can protect your car from the heat. Review our top four summer car maintenance tips below:
1. Have Your Fluids Checked
Your car uses several fluids to stop different systems from overheating. If you haven’t had your fluid levels checked recently, your levels could be low, meaning some of your car’s systems might be at a higher risk of overheating.
To make sure your car has the right fluid levels, a mechanic should check your car’s coolant, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, windshield washer fluid, and brake fluid. When the mechanic refills your fluids, they should only use a fluid type your vehicle’s manufacturer recommends.
2. Inspect the Battery
In the summer, the heat can be hard on your battery. Since the heat will raise the temperature under your vehicle’s hood, your battery will corrode faster. Alongside the higher risk of corrosion, water can evaporate your battery’s liquid electrolyte. Both of these issues can shorten the battery’s life and lower its capacity.
Since the heat can be dangerous for a battery, it’s important a mechanic inspects it. At a service location, a mechanic can look for corrosion on or near the battery. If they find corrosion, they may be able to clean it, but sometimes they’ll need to replace your battery depending on the severity of the corrosion. They should also check your battery to make sure it has enough charge for the summer.
3. Check Your Vehicle’s Tire Pressure
Just like your car’s fluids and battery, the heat can affect your tire pressure. While cold weather can lower your tire pressure, the summer heat will cause air molecules in your tire to spread out and move faster. As a result, the air molecules can cause your tires to over-inflate. High temperatures also mean your tires will generate more heat while you drive, increasing the risk of your tires bursting.
To protect your tires from overinflating and potentially bursting while you’re driving, take your car in for an inspection. During this inspection, a mechanic will check your tire’s pressure and let any excess air out of them. By keeping your vehicle’s tire pressure at the right levels, you’ll lower the risk of a burst tire stranding you on the side of the road. You can also make sure your tires stay at the right pressure by regularly using a tire pressure gauge to check them.
4. Schedule an Oil Change
When your driving in the summer, the high temperatures raise the risk of your engine overheating. As your engine heats up, it will reduce your oil’s viscosity and make it thinner. Without the right viscosity, your engine won’t have enough lubrication and will generate more friction. This friction can then overheat your engine.
Though the summer can affect your car’s oil, you can keep your vehicle in great shape by scheduling an oil change. During an oil change, the mechanic can use a more viscous oil to reduce the risk of your oil thinning to unsafe levels. They can also fill the oil to your car’s max to better protect the engine from overheating. You should also know that if you get an oil change from Chapel Hill Tire, it will include a tire air pressure check and fluids level inspection, ensuring your vehicle is ready for the summer.
Schedule a Summer Car Maintenance Appointment at Chapel Hill Tire
If you’re looking for car service near you in the Triangle area, Chapel Hill Tire can help. With our 11 Triangle-area locations and experienced mechanics, we’re confident we can prepare your car for the summer heat. Our mechanics can change your oil, inspect your vehicle, refill fluids, and perform any maintenance services you need. Before you drop off your car for service, check our current promotions to see how much you can save. When you need maintenance or an oil change, schedule your appointment today!