Help Your Car Survive the Arizona Summer Heat The extreme high temperatures in Arizona take a toll on your vehicle, making automobile maintenance a high priority if you want it to last. We’ll take a look at the most important things to check up on to keep you in the driver’s seat during the hot summer. 1. Battery Hot summertime temperatures in Phoenix can wreak havoc on your car-battery. Heat shortens battery life faster than cold temperatures. The most common reasons for battery failure are usually due to excessive heat or over-charging, leading to car-starting failure. Heat causes the fluid inside the battery to evaporate and causes damage from the inside. Before checking the battery, take a look to see if it’s a service-free battery. What that means is there is no access to the internal battery fluid, so don’t try to pry off the caps. If you have a serviceable battery, there are usually two caps on the top of it. Wear eye protection and gloves because the fluid is very acidic. You can pry off the two caps with a flat head screwdriver. Once it’s open, shine a light inside and look for water. If you can’t see water, the battery is running dry. You can put tap water inside the battery, filling it to the top of the hole. Once filled, replace the caps. While you’re looking in the battery, it’s a good time to check for corrosion on the battery posts. The battery posts is where the car is physically connected to the battery. Household baking soda works at dissolving the corrosive material, but you can also check with your local auto shop for products that help get rid of and deter corrosion. 2. Air Filter If you’ve spent any time in Arizona, you probably noticed there is a LOT of sand in the air and on the roadways. The soil is so dry here that it has the same consistency of talcum powder – literally! One small kick of dirt can cause a mini-dust storm, and you will be surprised how much dust flies in the air just from walking on it. When the wind blows, the dust flies into the air and it is sucked into your air filter. An air filter is an important part of a car’s intake system, because it is through the air filter that the engine “breathes.” An engine needs an exact mixture of fuel and air in order to run, and all of the air enters the system first through the air filter. The air filter does just what the name implies: It filters out dirt and particles in the air, to prevent those particles from entering the engine. Air filters are normally made of paper. If the air filter goes too long without being changed, it will get clogged and not allow the engine to suck in enough air to run properly. The end result of a clogged air filter is lost power and poor gas mileage. Check your owner’s manual for how often you should change your air filter, but keep in mind that they should probably be changed more often than recommended due to higher temperatures and sand in the air.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 17:45:19 +0000
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