Well here we are, in the midst of summer and it is HOT!

These past few days the temperature has been UP there. Not as bad as the heat wave on the mainland, but nevertheless, the heat and the humidity will take a toll on you AND your vehicle.

Imagine been stuck in early morning or late afternoon rush hour traffic.  You are creeping along at 5 miles an hour, or even worse, not moving at all.  Luckily, you’ve got the A/C on, keeping you comfortable and calm, right? But what if your A/C quit working? - Stuck in traffic in a hot car, back of your shirt wet with sweat, getting more and more uncomfortable and frustrated, the heat draining the energy out of you. Yuck.

How about entering your vehicle after it has been sitting in the sun all day? You open the door and feel the wall of hot air hit your face and body. You already KNOW the seat and steering wheel will be hot and you’ll be sitting in a sauna… not a good feeling.

To help you stay cool and collected, here are some tips that will help:

Tip #1: If you park your vehicle in the sun, cover your front windshield with some sort of reflector covering. Doing this keeps the heat from entering through the front glass. It will also keep your steering wheel and your front dash from heating up and causing major interior damage.

Cover the top of the rear seat and rear shelf with some sort of dark-colored towel to protect it from the sun. Why dark? Light-colored material will reflect onto the rear window and affect visibility through the glass when driving during the day.

Tip #2: I recommend tinting your side and rear windows with legal color tint. There are tinting laws that are enforced by the City and County of Honolulu. Read up on the tinting laws before deciding to do it on your own, or have a professional tinting company provide the service.

Tip #3: Before leaving your vehicle, you may want to crack the window slightly open… but not large enough to give some unknown person easy access to get in. Use your best judgment as to how much to crack the window open. Why should you do this? Hot air rises, so this allows the hot air to escape out of the car. If your vehicle is equipped with a sunroof, make sure you close the shade.

Tip #4: When you get into a hot vehicle, start the engine, switch on the A/C, turn the blower fan speed to high, and lower all windows. Drive away with the windows down until all the hot air escapes from the car and you feel the cool air coming through the air vent. Then close all windows and turn the air circulation mode from outside vent to inside.  By doing this, the A/C system does not have to work as hard to cool the interior. 

Tip #5: If you are able to park under a shaded area, this will help. But think about what is shading the vehicle. If it is a tree, just realize that there’s the ‘bird factor.’ Look for evidence of the bird factor on the ground in your parking space. In a covered parking lot, make sure water is not leaking from the upper floor. Concrete water will damage the exterior of your vehicle.

Tip #6: If you notice the air conditioning taking a long time to cool down you vehicle, or it just doesn’t feel cold like it used to, it may be a good time to inspect and service the A/C system. Keep in mind A/C repairs or refills are not cheap. 

Tip #7: Driving to the North Shore with a packed car on a hot summer day with the A/C on max takes a heavy toll on your engine. Inspect the coolant or antifreeze in your radiator.  Make sure it is full and the radiator system is operating at top efficiency. Don’t let your system fail you in the middle of your summer plans.

I hope these motoring tips help you to keep cool and comfortable during the hot summer season!