Is Your A/C Not Cooling Quickly?
Well, it is official! Summer is here with HEAT and HUMIDITY. We always have people say their A/C is not working well enough but when tested, it is fine. Most of the time, it seems like it takes forever for the inside to cool off. The quickest way to do that is to set your A/C to Max Cool or use the recirculation feature on your A/C system. The Max Cool system setting recirculates the air inside your car so you start to recirculate the inside cooler air instead of trying to cool the outside warm air. Recirculation will get you slightly cooler air than warm fresh air coming in.
Another thing I have seen a lot of people do is not turn the rear AC on. Some people think that turning the A/C on causes lower gas mileage. The front and rear A/C use the same compressor. So, gas usage is not affected by turning on the rear A/C and doesn’t cause lower gas mileage. So, if you want to feel more comfortable in your vehicle, turn the rear A/C at full speed even if no one is in the back. This will cool the inside quickly and make you more comfortable.
Now of course the best way to help the A/C and your comfort is to try and reduce the temperature in your car while it is sitting. The best and cheapest way is to crack your windows about ½ inch. This will let the hot air out and reduce the temperature in the car. If you are worried about the afternoon shower, get the stick-on rain guards. You can also get those sunshades for your windshield. The best thing is to park in the shade if you are lucky to find a spot. For more tips about your car or if you have any questions, come see us at White’s Automotive Center! We’re here to help!
How important is Anti-freeze?
We all know that anti-freeze keeps the coolant in your radiator from freezing in the winter. How does it help in the summer? One of the main things that it does is raise the boiling point of water. This allows the coolant to be more efficient at keeping the engine cooler. Also, air pockets in the cooling system will cause the coolant to stop circulating which will overheat the engine. Lastly, it acts as a rust inhibitor and a lubricant for the water pump. If your vehicle has no anti-freeze or little anti-freeze, the engine block will rust and cause severe and very costly damage. You need a mix of 50% water and 50% anti-freeze, and it will help keep the cooling system working great for years.
We get a lot of calls about vehicles with coolant leaks, and customers ask if they can drive the vehicle in and keep putting water in their radiator. The short answer is I don’t recommend it. To have your vehicle towed in from a local location from us is usually $65.00. Overheating your engine can cause severe internal engine damage, costing thousands of dollars to repair. So, a $65.00 tow versus an engine replacement or head gasket repair is a smart choice.
The other reason I don’t recommend it is that there are several components in a vehicle nowadays that are made of plastic. Plastic can go from a slow leak to a large crack, and you can’t keep fluid in the vehicle. This can happen in a second and then you don’t have coolant in your vehicle. Also, if you think you can watch your gauge and stop the vehicle before it overheats, sorry you are wrong. Coolant temperature gauges read coolant temperature accurately but do not read air temperature correctly. So, if you lose your coolant rapidly due to a broken plastic piece, the gauge never reads hot. It will read slightly cooler as your engine gets damaged.
So, in the long run, get it towed in…it’s cheaper than engine repair. Also, keep anti-freeze in your vehicle and replace it about every 10 years or 100.00 miles. Come see us at White’s Automotive Center if you have any questions!
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