Summer’s coming, or at least it feels that way as these words are being written. While it’s always possible that Ireland’s weather will betray us and give us a summer of deluges instead, right now the sun is splitting the stones and it’s balmy and blue-skied out there.
Which means it’s time to follow these essential car maintenance tips to ensure your car is prepped for summer. Hang on, I hear you say; isn’t prepping a car for weather more of a winter thing? While it’s true that winter prep — anti-freeze, ice-scrapers, headlight checks, winter tyres, etc — can be a bit more intensive, it’s also important to follow these simple car maintenance tips to make sure that you’re prepared for any hot weather.
Checking Coolant and Radiator Health: Summer Car Maintenance
The first thing to check is that your car’s coolant levels are all topped up, and it’s well worth having a good nose around the engine bay to check for any radiator hoses that might be loose or are looking warm. If it’s looking like a hot summer, or if you’re planning a driving holiday to southern climes, it’s not a bad idea to book your car in for a radiator service — a regular service before a long holiday is always a good idea anyway, but making sure that the car’s cooling system has been fully checked out and repaired, where necessary, could save you an afternoon sat on the hard shoulder with steam coming from under the bonnet.
How to Prepare Your Car’s Air Conditioning for the Heat
When it comes to keeping yourself cool, it’s also a good idea to have your air conditioning system checked, and where necessary, re-gassed. It’s actually recommended that you get your air-conditioning re-gassed every two years, and you’d be amazed at the difference that this can make. At the same time, it’s a good idea to replace the cabin air filters, as these can help trap nasty pollutants (especially if you’re sitting in long lines of Bank Holiday traffic) and keep out pollen that could trigger bouts of hay-fever.
Vision is vital, of course, and so you need to make sure that you can see clearly out of your car. Make sure your windscreen washers are topped up fully, and use a hydrophobic detergent — such as RainEx — to ensure the clearest visibility at all times. If you’re going on a long journey, you’d be amazed at how quickly insect splatter builds up on your windscreen, so get a can of cleaning spray-foam to squirt over the windscreen when you’re stopped, as regular detergents can struggle to clear the mess.
If it’s sunny, it’s also vital to have a good pair of sunglasses in the car, with prescription lenses if necessary. The best — those made by the likes of Serengeti and Persol — are expensive, but worth it for the combination of high-quality lenses with polarisation which cuts down on glare, and significantly reduces eye-strain.
You’d think that keeping your car clean in summer would be easier than in winter, but you’d be wrong… In the summer, much more dry dust and melted tar gets kicked up by other vehicles, and that will stick to your paint. Equally, if you’ve parked under a tree in full leaf, it’s not uncommon to find your car covered in sticky tree sap and bird droppings, both of which are horribly damaging for your paint job. So, within the bounds of any hose-pipe bans, it’s important to keep your car clean (which, of course, helps with visibility too). Getting a good quality ceramic coating is a good idea, or failing that a good body wax will help to protect your paintwork.
On hot days, it’s also vital to remember your family pet. If you’re bringing your dog in the car, remember that it’s the law that they must be safely restrained when in the car, either in a crate or cage in the boot, or using a harness with a seatbelt attachment. Never, ever leave your dog in the car. Even on relatively cool days, it takes only minutes for a car’s interior to heat up to 47-degrees Celsius, and that’s enough to give a dog heat-stroke, which in extreme circumstances can be fatal. Always remember to bring some water with you for the dog, and there are some very handy collapsible dog bowls, which stash neatly in the boot or a door pocket, and which allows your pooch to have a drink when they need one.
Finally, check your tyres. It’s always important to check your tyres all year round, of course, but make sure your tread-depth is healthy and that your tyre pressures are correct all-round. You might think that’s less important in the summer than in the winter, but remember — this is Ireland, and the rain can return at any moment. Worse, heavy rain after a sustained dry spell means that the roads will be even more slippery than usual, so it’s absolutely vital to have good tyres, and to drive with extra care, when that happens.
By implementing all of these car maintenance tips, you can be sure that your car is ready for anything you throw at it.
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