Driving in the summer is so nice. The sun in the sky, the windows down, the scenery alive and green all around you. The biggest drawback is probably that it is hot enough to cook an egg on the hood of your car.
The heat seems to be the primary antagonist of the summertime. But while it is a formidable opponent, really everything about the summer can negatively affect your vehicle. Granted, this is because vehicles are in a constant state of entropy. Maintaining them is just the cost of doing business.
But people often wonder, what are the most common vehicle problems in the summer? What procedures should one’s car undergo, and what should one look out for? Well, Collins Auto Care has the answers.
The Obvious One: Overheating
As mentioned before, the summer heat is ridiculous. How much does this impact your car? Quite a bit. Cars operate off of combustion engines, burning fuel and oxygen to keep their pistons moving. Heat is an expected component to this, as you might expect. But there is such a thing as “too hot” for a combustion engine.
The easiest way for an engine to overheat is that the cooling system is not able to keep up with the heat being built up inside the car. This usually happens with older cars, as it requires essentially every part of the car’s cooling system to be performing sub-optimally.
The thing is, every part malfunctioning a little can develop into problem that affects you a lot.
The Less Obvious One: Broken Drive Belt
The summer heat turning your engine into an oven is a pretty intuitive way for summer to negatively affect your car. But there are other ways heat can mess with your favorite machine. An easy one to overlook is how the heat can cause the drive belt of your car to suddenly go smooth.
The drive belt is also known as the serpentine belt, and it is the continuous stretch of (super durable) fabric that snakes its way through your car’s innards. It keeps everything from pistons to breaks running. The trouble is, the heat can cause it to lose its texture, and without texture it has no friction to grip the gears of your car.
Luckily, drive belts are designed with this in mind. If your drive belt is losing traction, you will hear it happen in the form of a high pitched squeal. This is your signal to take your car into the shop.
The Secret One: Vaporized Fuel
This one is unexpected until you think about it. Of course fuel vaporizes. It’s in a combustion engine. The thing is, fuel can reach its vaporization temperature even when the car is off if it is hot enough outside.
As bad as this is, cars will usually be designed around this with a series of hoses that either feed that vaporized fuel into the engine or vent it out. The problem is, too much vaporized fuel can cause issues with those hoses, and in all cases, you are losing gas mileage.
The heat of the summer can cause a lot of weird stuff to happen. If you ever need help with that, do not be afraid to call Collins Auto Care in Houston TX at 281-645-5780. Stay safe this summer!