Posted by Unknown on 5:58 AM
Use
these easy maintenance tips this summer to avoid breaking down from your car
overheating.
This summer is one of the
hottest in recent memory, and is already creating a flurry of awful news
stories about people leaving their dogs and even their children in hot cars to
overheat, and even die.
While we hope readers are using common sense
about dogs and children, we know that car care in extreme heat is not always
obvious, even when you consult that phone book in your glove box known as the owner's
manual.
So here are some basic things you should know
about caring for your car and avoiding unnecessary catastrophes or repairs.
1. If you battery is three years old, consider
replacing it as a matter of preventive maintenance. Batteries get stressed in
extreme temperatures, and the older they get, the more stressed they get.
2. Have your cooling service checked by a mechanic or the dealer if it has not been looked at in two years. This system is
critical to keeping the engine cool and the air
conditioning system working right. Let it break for lack of simple
maintenance, and it is not cheap to fix or replace.
3. If you are driving, and especially if you are
stuck in traffic, and the temperature light goes on and you are in the danger zone, turn
off the air conditioner immediately and open the windows. If the light stays
on, turn the temperature selector on the system to the hottest setting. This
will redirect some of the heat that is trapped in the cooling system. If the
light stays on, pull over and call road-side assistance. Stop driving. If the
light goes off, you should be okay to drive the car to a mechanic.
4. Make sure you have fresh coolant in your
radiator to start the summer, not just water. Have the radiator checked specifically
for corrosion.
5. Look at your tires. If you have worn or cracked tires, you are asking for big trouble in
very hot weather. Not only could you blow the tires, but a blow-out at high
speeds could cause you to crash, rollover and possibly hit another vehicle.
6. If you drive long stretches of road on a
summer road trip or business trip, keep a gallon jug of water somewhere in the
car. It could come in handy if you have a radiator leak, or you get stuck waiting for help.
Article courtesy of http://aol.it/YZGLnz.
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