Maintenance key to avoiding car problems during extremely hot weather: experts
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin residents may see more car problems as extremely hot temperatures continue in the area. Car experts said the key to avoiding issues is maintenance.
"You want to be thinking about the road ahead of you and not the road beneath you," Nokian Tyres communications manager Wes Boling said.
But the hotter the rubber gets on tires, the softer the tires are.
Boling said typically a good pair of all-season tires are not going to shred just because it’s hot, but heat can be a contributing factor if there are other issues with the tires.
"If you've not properly inflated your tires, then they can wear really poorly on hot roads. If you hit any kind of road hazard that could combine with the heat and create issues. If you've not rotated your tire in a while, then you can have some irregular wear that's going to lead to that issue," Boling said.
He said it’s important to take care of your tires.
"Check your tires inflation, check that pressure regularly, get it inflated at that right level, and then make sure you're rotating those tires. That's the key, and then the heat itself is not going to cause you those issues if you're on a good set of tires," Boling said.
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Car owners may also see problems with their water pump, thermostat, and coolant and heater hoses because of the heat.
"Any plastic on your car, any rubber on your car, is going to fail due to heat because it’s going to dry out and age just like your tires would from age and dry rot," Ben White Automotive general manager Brent Chandler said.
Chandler said the best thing to do to avoid issues is to get maintenance done regularly.
"Get a coolant flush, take care of your actual AC and freon evaporate and recharge, make sure there are no leaks in your expansion valves," Chandler said.
Car experts said if something does seem to be wrong with your car, get it checked out quickly because the heat could possibly make the problem worse.