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Safety
How to maintain your car during hot weather
Keep your vehicle running smoothly this summer and avoid breakdown and costly repairs with this guide to maintaining your car in hot weather.
Hot weather can put additional strain on your vehicle, accelerating its wear and tear and increasing the risk of a breakdown. While living in Australia means driving in the heat can be unavoidable, by taking a few extra precautions, you can avoid heat-related breakdowns and car damage.
Here’s a guide on how hot weather affects your car, how to keep your vehicle in optimal condition during summer, and what to do if, in a worst-case scenario, your car engine does overheat.
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How to help prevent a car overheating
Monitor car fluid levels
Monitoring and topping up car fluid levels is crucial when driving in hot weather to ensure your vehicle operates smoothly and prevents overheating. Coolant, engine oil, brake fluid, and power steering fluid all play vital roles in maintaining optimal performance. In extreme heat, these fluids can degrade or evaporate more quickly, leading to potential engine failure or brake issues. If your car doesn’t have enough coolant, for example, it is possible the engine could overheat, which could cause considerable damage.
Regularly checking and replenishing fluid levels helps avoid costly breakdowns and ensures your car’s systems run efficiently. This proactive maintenance also reduces wear and tear, enhances safety, and improves overall reliability, especially in the harsh conditions of hot weather.
Test your battery
Heat can put additional strain on everything from your tyres to your car battery. Book your car in for a service before you hit the road and have your mechanic carry out a full inspection including battery test at the start of the summer season.
Your battery may be affected by hot temperatures, which can impact your battery's vital components such as the sulphuric acid and distilled water and weaken its charge. The heat can also speed up the corrosion process. Corrosion will irreversibly damage the internal structure of the battery.
Check your tyres
As the temperature rises, the air pressure in your tyres increases. Over-inflation of tyres can interfere with braking and cause your tyres to wear out prematurely. Under-inflated tyres are also problematic because they have more flex. This can contribute to heat build-up, making them more likely to wear and tear prematurely or possibly cause a tyre blowout. It’s always a good idea to check your tyre pressure before any long drive because over- or under-inflated tyres will impact your car’s fuel efficiency and on-road performance.
Excess heat from the sun can also wear out your tyres faster. Check the tread depth on your tyres. On every tyre there is a small bar next to the letters TWI (tread wear indicator). If your tyres are worn close to or in line with this bar, it's time to replace them.
Incorrect wheel alignment is another cause of tyre wear, particularly the inner and outer edges. To check the tread on the inside edge of your front tyres, turn the steering wheel fully to the right or left, and if the tread is heavily worn, and the inside of the tyre is smooth, then it’s time to book in for a wheel alignment and new tyres.
More: Tyre maintenance and safety checks
Get a car service
If you’re about to embark on a road trip, particularly in summer, it’s important that your car is in a safe condition and roadworthy. Generally speaking, you should get your car serviced every 10,000km or six months. If it’s been a while between car services, this is a priority. Hot weather can lead to increased mechanical stress, placing additional strain not just on your battery and tyres, but on your engine and other components, such as belts and hoses, too.
Regular servicing will also protect your car’s engine and other components. Adequate coolant, engine oil and brake, air conditioning, power steering and wiper fluids are critical to the health and safety of your vehicle. If you turn your car air conditioning on and you get a musty smell, you may need an anti-bacterial service or to replace the cabin/pollen filter.
If you’re planning a road trip, book early as any work identified will need to be completed prior to travel.
Always check your tyre pressure before heading off on a road trip. Image: Getty
Driving tips in extreme heat
Watch for cracks and potholes
On hot days the road surface can become soft and sticky, particularly if it has been recently sealed. The heat can affect your tyre pressure, and change the road surface. Try to avoid any potholes or cracks as you drive.
Manage fatigue and dehydration
High temperatures can cause dehydration, leading to dizziness, reduced concentration, and slower reaction times, increasing the risk of accidents. Fatigue is also more common in hot conditions, as the body works harder to stay cool, which can impair judgment and reflexes. To stay alert, drink plenty of water, take regular breaks, and avoid driving when overly tired. Ensure your car's air conditioning system is functioning properly to help regulate cabin temperature and help prevent heat exhaustion.
Keep an eye on the temperature gauge
High temperatures can strain your vehicle's cooling system, causing coolant to evaporate or become less effective. If the engine temperature rises too high, it can lead to serious damage, such as a blown head gasket, warped cylinder heads, or even engine failure. Keeping an eye on your car's temperature gauge when driving in extreme heat allows you to take action early, such as pulling over to let the engine cool down or checking coolant levels.
Carry an emergency kit
Always be prepared for a breakdown. Common issues include a flat tyre, dead battery, overheated engine or engine failure. Essential items to keep in your car include jumper leads, a torch, phone charger and even a jerry can.
A car emergency kit is something you should carry in your car year-round. If you’re travelling long distances in extreme temperatures, it’s worth carrying extra coolant, gloves, and a rag/towel in case you need to open the bonnet. Drivers of older vehicles should also carry a litre of oil and check the oil level regularly during any long trip, topping up where necessary.
It’s also important to check that your emergency roadside assistance is up to date and offers adequate service and benefits for your trip.
Wash your car after dusty drives
After driving in hot and dusty environments, wash your car to prevent dirt damaging or discolouring the paint. If your car does end up scratched from the drive, you can remove most light car scratches yourself.
If your car overheats, pull over and call for emergency roadside assistance.
What to do if your car is overheating
Modern cars are equipped with various technologies designed to keep them running at the optimum temperature in any condition. But despite sophisticated cooling systems, heat sensors and computer-controlled fans, overheating can still happen. Here's how to fix an overheated car.
Signs that your car is overheating include the temperature gauge light coming on, the presence of smoke or steam coming out from under your bonnet, a bonnet that is hot to the touch, a loud ticking noise and coolant leaking on the ground.
If you notice any of these signs, pull over as soon as it is safe to do so and turn off your engine. If you know how to check the coolant reservoir, check the fluid level and top up to the maximum level if required. Allow at least 15 minutes for the engine to cool. Check for leaks under the vehicle, or under the bonnet. These could be from radiator hoses, the radiator or coolant reservoir. If the coolant level remains at the maximum level and there are no leaks, continue to monitor the temperature gauge as you continue your journey. If in doubt, call for emergency road assistance.
Otherwise, it’s advisable to drive straight to your nearest mechanic or service station to address the overheating issue. If you breakdown on a freeway, pull over into the emergency lane and turn on your hazard lights. Remain in your vehicle, if it is safe to do so, and call for emergency roadside assistance.
Modern electric vehicles have active thermal management systems to cool the battery.
Do electric vehicles (EVs) overheat?
"EV batteries usually operate most effectively between 15-35°C, with the ideal temperature being around 22°C," says Rohan Smith, RACV Product Manager - Electric Vehicles. "Overall, EVs are far less likely to overheat than ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, due to less heat being generated by the motor."
Most modern electric vehicles (EVs) have active thermal management. This active thermal management in EVs acts similarly to a radiator in an ICE vehicle, but often uses an efficient heat pump to heat or cool the EV battery pack within the desired battery operating temperature.
Tesla EVs like the Model Y and Model 3 even pre-condition the battery to the optimal charging temperature when the in-car navigation is routing to a Tesla Supercharger station.
On very hot days (>35°C), the active thermal management system will cool the battery pack down to protect the battery. This naturally uses extra energy from the battery to run the cooling system, which therefore can impact the effective range of the EV, sometimes up to 10 per cent. Similarly, on a hot day the in-cabin air conditioning could slightly reduce EV range, depending on the temperature selected by the occupants.
Some EVs, such as the Nissan Leaf, only use passive thermal management like electric fans (therefore relying on ambient air temperature) to cool their battery. Before buying an EV, do your research to see what system is installed.
"EV batteries could start to see an increase in battery degradation if they exceed 55°C, but this would very rarely happen with active thermal management," Smith says.
In extreme hot weather, it's advisable to charge your EV overnight, or at least in the shade, to reduce electricity consumption – because less active thermal management will be required.
