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The sweltering heat of the summer sun can have a huge affect on the health of your vehicle. Taking care of you car during the times of long car journeys, beach house vacations and roof down adventures is of upmost importance. We suggest bringing your car into Bolney Grange Garage for a routine maintenance check, so you don’t end up stuck on the hard shoulder, with an overheated engine and a group of unhappy passengers who have had to endure the heat without the cooling breeze of a working air con system.

Here are some summer car care tips to help prevent you from a horrible breakdown experience.

1 – Have your A/C units inspected by a qualified technician

Ever experienced the discomfort of getting into someones car who says “oh yeah, sorry guys. Forgot to mention my A/C is broken” whilst the sun is beaming down on the body of the vehicle? If you haven’t, count yourself lucky! Sitting on those black leather seats that would provide you with enough heat to cook a full blown sausage bacon and egg breakfast, whilst your steering wheel is so hot you can barely touch it. Sweat dripping from your forehead. Skin sticking to the material of your seat. The other passengers constantly complaining that it’s going to cause them to faint. That’s a quick description of what it feels like to experience a car with a faulty A/C unit. Not fun! So before you decide to go on one of those long journeys this summer, consider having a qualified technician perform a simple check.

2 – Have your battery checked

This one may put questions into your mind. ‘Why would I need to get my battery checked?’ or ‘How is this a summer car care tip’. You may think that having a technician perform a simple check on your battery is un important, but that is where you are unfortunately mistaken. The overheating of your battery can rapidly reduce its life span. When 25 plus degree heat is blasting your battery, it can cause the battery fluid to start evaporating, which as you can imagine is damaging to the internals of the battery. To lengthen the battery life as much as possible, asking your local garage to perform a quick 10 minute check should not go a miss.

3 – Take care of your engine

Increasing temperatures puts an increasing pressure on your engine. It is no surprise that the leading cause of summer breakdowns are caused by overheating engines. Weekly checks of your engine coolant levels becomes a top priority during these times of sunny weather. Coolant is a solution made up of a mix of antifreeze and water. Checking these levels is as easy as lifting the hood of your vehicle, and checking that the liquid reaches the full line, on the side of the coolant reservoir.

4 – Constantly check your tyres

Climbing temperatures means your tyres are at a higher risk of a blowout. Justifying the need to regularly check and monitor your tyre pressures. If your car is high tech and lets you know if you have a flat, thats brilliant, but don’t rely only on the advice the computer has told you. Perform manual checks as well to be extra sure you won’t end up stranded with a flat. As the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Not only should you be checking the pressure however. You will need to perform visual inspections of your tread and tyre wear. If you feel a bit stranded, best bet is to visit a trusted mechanic to perform the inspections for you.