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7 Ways to Keep Your Car From Overheating

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desert road mountains
As pleasant as warm weather can be to humans, it can increase your car’s risk of overheating
Photo: Pixabay

Whether you live in a place that experiences extreme heat or you plan on road-tripping to one in the near future, you’ll want to reduce your car’s risk of overheating. Here are some helpful tips to prevent this unfortunate scenario.


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Use window shades

sun shade
This nifty sunshade from Amazon is an affordable investment to help protect your dashboard from sun damage and keep your car cooler
Photo: Amazon

Invest in a sunshade for the windshield to help block UV rays, keep the cabin area a bit cooler, and protect the dashboard from sun damage. If you live in a particularly warm climate, you might also consider getting custom-made shades for the side windows.

Park in the shade

It might be a no-brainer, but parking your vehicle in a car garage or in the shade will keep your car’s interior cooler.

Use the floor air vents

When you get in your car on a warm day, turn on the floor air vents rather than the dashboard ones. This will help push hot air up and out of the car faster.

Go with the AC instead of the recirculation setting

Make sure to use your car’s air conditioning system on the AC setting for about 10 minutes, before switching to the recirculation setting. That way, you don’t just recirculate hot air.

Keep an eye on the temperature gauge

Chevrolet Colorado gauges
Temperature gauges monitor the car’s engine, letting you know when it starts to get too warm
Photo: © General Motors

Car gauges on the dashboard are useful for displaying important vehicle diagnostics. Keep an eye on your car’s temperature gauge to make sure the engine is at a healthy temperature and isn’t getting too hot.

Schedule coolant flushes

Regular coolant flushes are crucial for helping prevent your car from overheating. Your Mechanic recommends performing this service every 50,000 miles.

Make sure the battery has enough juice

If it’s been a while since you replaced your car’s battery — like more than 3 years — invest in a new one. A new battery has sufficient power to energize your car and help cool it when it starts to overheat, while a low battery is less capable of preventing your car from overheating.


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