Protect Your Vehicle from Summer Elements

When you think about adverse elements that might impact the health of your vehicle, you probably think first about the winter season. We in the North Idaho region are no strangers to tough winter weather, and you need to prepare your vehicle for those driving conditions in order to get through it without any issues.

While summer is far more comfortable for people, it can also be hard on your vehicle. This article is going to look at some of the ways that the summer elements can damage your vehicle in the Sandpoint area, and what can be done to combat those potential problems. By getting ahead of the game and taking action right away, you might be able to avoid issues later on.

The Primary Threat is the Sun

During the summer, it’s the heat that you’ll want to protect your vehicle from more than anything else. While we get to enjoy plenty of nice summer days in this part of Idaho, we also experience some serious heat from time to time – and those soaring temperatures can do harm to the condition of your vehicle.

Specifically, when the sun beats down on your windows, it will dramatically warm up the interior of the vehicle, and the materials inside could be damaged as a result. This might mean just some cosmetic fading of colors, but it could also mean the degrading of surfaces that you touch regularly while operating the car or truck.

Having the sun beat down on the exterior of the vehicle can do damage, as well. The paint may fade quickly and the durability of the exterior finish could be compromised. If you ever visit a desert environment and happen to see some cars parked that clearly haven’t been driven or cared for in a while, you will notice just how faded they appear – the sun is a powerful thing, and your car can take the brunt of its power in the summer months.

Park Strategically

If the sun is the primary threat to the health of your vehicle in the summer, one of the best things you can do to protect the vehicle is to keep it out of the sun as much as possible. As a starting point, parking in a garage or under a carport is a great advantage if you have it available.

Your vehicle likely spends far more time in park than it does in drive, so finding it somewhere to rest where it won’t be blasted by the sun’s rays can go a long way. If you have a garage on your property that is currently full of too much stuff to use for parking, consider cleaning it out and making room to park so you can hide your vehicle from the heat throughout the summer months. Of course, parking indoors is also a big advantage during the snowy winter season, so this is a win all the way around.

Even if you don’t have a garage available, or if you are out and about for work or personal reasons, think about where you park as a strategic decision related to the sun. When possible, find a shady spot near a tree so you can limit direct sunlight and prevent your vehicle from getting so hot while it waits for you to return.

Complete Regular Washes

Another good way to give your car some care in the summer months is to go through a car wash regularly, or to wash it yourself. This is about more than just making the vehicle look great – although that is a nice side effect. When you wash the exterior of your vehicle, you remove dirt and other types of buildup that have accumulated on the paint job.

If left alone, that accumulation could start to damage the paint, and the exterior won’t wind up lasting as long as it would have otherwise. Washing your car is a good idea throughout the year, but it’s particularly useful in the summer months when you are less likely to get a free wash from Mother Nature.

Check On Your Tires

It’s important to have the right air pressure in your tires at all times. When air pressure is too low, rolling resistance is increased and you wind up not getting as good of gas mileage as you would have otherwise. On the flip side, overinflated tires can increase the risk of a blowout event while on the road, and you may lose traction due to the stretching out of the treads.
In the summer, you are more likely to deal with overinflation as opposed to underinflation. When the temperatures rise, the air inside your tires will expand, and the pressure will increase. So, if you haven’t touched your tires since the winter, there is a good chance the pressure reading will be too high when you arrive at a hot summer day. Get in the habit of checking the air pressure periodically so the right adjustments can be made.

Change the Air Filter

One other summer maintenance point to mention is to make sure the air filter that serves your air conditioner is changed at some point so the system can breathe freely and deliver cool air to the cabin. It’s likely that the AC will be on virtually every time you get in the vehicle during the summer, so that air filter is going to quickly accumulate dirt and start to clog up. This is an affordable part to swap out as it gets dirty, so add this to your checklist of things to monitor on the vehicle.

How Can We Serve You?

With a reliable, honest, affordable service department on-site, Taylor & Sons Chevrolet has a lot to offer vehicle owners in and around Sandpoint. Whether you need a simple service visit or something more involved and complicated, we are up to the task. Reach out today to schedule an appointment or for more information. Thank you for stopping by!

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