Prepare Your Car for the Summer

The summer days are well and truly here and the last thing you want to think about is car maintenance. Well tough! Just because your body naturally adapts itself to the warmer days, it doesn’t mean your car does as well. That’s science! So, today we are going to run through some of the basic checks and updates you should be doing to prep your car for the warmer days.

Change/check the oil
Oil should be checked regularly in all seasons. However, with the rising temperatures and the intense heat that can accrue under the hood of your car, it is important to do summer-specific checks on this essential element. This is doubly true if your car is one that requires a change from winter-grade oil to summer grade oil. Oil designed for the extreme cold of winter is thinner and will not have the right viscosity for warmer seasons.

Consider your tyres
Perhaps you are one of them fancy dandy’s who got themselves a set of all-season tyres so that they can ride in comfort all year round. If you are, then forget this part. If you are not, you may want to consider switching to summer tires. These tires have a less aggressive thread and a shorter side-wall and offer better handling and fuel-efficiency when driving in warm conditions.

Check the A/C
Nothing tears a family apart like long hours spent on the motorway in a boiling hot car. You can do a check yourself to see if the air conditioning is effective in your car. If it fluctuates wildly or only ever gives cool but not cold air, it may be time to bring it in for a thorough check. Quite a lot goes into the humble air-conditioning unit, and a variety of items including belts, hoses, refrigerants and seals need to be checked to ensure tip-top performance. It may seem like the kind of check-up where you can save a little money by putting it off or ignoring the issue entirely, but can you really put a price on family?

Check the coolant
Essentially the air conditioning for your engine, your coolant system is a primary factor in preventing the engine from overheating. A coolant system check involves checking all radiators and hoses for leaks and ensuring the coolant levels are correct. That said, on the hottest of days you should still keep an eye on your dashboard temperature gauge to ensure your car engine doesn’t go all Ghost Rider on you! (we mean burst into flame, not turn into a cursed demon and start dispensing justice.)

While you can carry out some of these checks yourself, we recommend a full summer service for guaranteed results. At Barnsley’s Car Servicing, we are happy to do all the necessary checks to ensure your vehicles is holiday ready and won’t cop out when heat and sand is all about!