Summer Hacks for a Hot Car

Get ready to head to the beach or tailgate with your friends, because summer is finally in full swing! It’s the season for ice cream cones, barbecues, and outdoor fun, but it’s also the season for sweltering cars and searing hot steering wheels. The unbearable heat of a sun-baked car can make driving in the summertime a chore, but there are some things you can do to help keep your car a little cooler. Most people know the big tips, like parking in the shade or using a sun visor in your windshield, but there are some little hacks you might not know about that can make a difference in how comfortable your car is this season. Here are a few that you can try out!

Fanning the Heat Out
This trick can help to lower the temperature of your car several degrees, which is helpful while you’re waiting for the AC to kick in. It might look a little funny, but it can make a difference in how comfortable your car is!

Open your passenger side window and make sure your driver’s side window is closed. Then, hop out of the car and flap or swing the driver’s side door back and forth a few times. Picture yourself using the door to push all the heat out the open window! Just be careful not to lose your grip and slam the door. When you get back in the car, this trick will have noticeably taken the edge off of the heat.

Choosing the Lower Vents
Another way that you can “push” heat out of the interior of your car is to make sure that once your cool air starts blowing, you’re blowing it out of the bottom vents. Because heat rises, filling the lower portion of your vehicle with cold air will essentially force the hot air up and out, cooling the car faster and more efficiently. This works especially well if you crack your windows to give the hot air somewhere to escape.

Turning the Steering Wheel
Nothing can delay a drive quite as much as a burning hot steering wheel that you can’t even manage to hold onto. If you struggle with this problem, particularly if you often have no choice but to park in the sun, this trick might be a big help to you!

When you park the car, turn your steering wheel 180 degrees so that the upper part where you normally place your hands is down at the bottom. This helps to protect the wheel from the direct heat of the sun, and when you get back in the car and turn the wheel back to the correct position, the upper half will be much cooler than the bottom half that was in the sun..

This summer, you don’t have to let a hot car stop you from enjoying a little fun in the sun! With these tricks, you’ll be able to minimize sweaty drives and burned hands from now until autumn.