How to Keep Your Parked Car Cool During the Summer
With summer in the air and warmer weather upon us, there may be days when you’re out and about running errands and leave your car parked in the sun for an hour — or five.
As you probably know, returning to a hot ride — not to be confused with hot rod — that’s been baking in the sun for hours on end isn’t very fun (or safe, if we’re being honest). From scorching seatbelt buckles to a searing steering wheel, dashboard and seats, it’s practically little fires everywhere!
Here are four tricks to skirt around those scalding-hot mini hazards and keep your car cool in the summer:
- Park in a shaded area
On those scorcher days when the sun is beaming extra bright, parking in a shaded area may be your best bet for keeping your car temperature down. If you can’t find a nearby parking garage, parking in an area with trees or on the shaded side of a tall building may help give your car some relief from the summer heat. - Use a windshield sunshade
If you’ve ever wondered why your car’s interior feels like an oven on a hot day, you can attribute this to “the greenhouse effect”— when the sun’s heat enters your vehicle through the windows and gets trapped inside, increasing the temperature. Since heat enters through the windows, covering your car windows with a windshield sunshade — those aluminum, accordion-style sheets you’ve probably seen stretched across the interior windshield of a car — is also an effective method for keeping your car cool. - Cover your seat and dashboard
If buying a windshield cover isn’t necessarily your cup of (iced) tea, you can always cover your seat, dashboard and steering wheel to keep them from getting too hot. You can simply drape a beach towel or old sheet over the desired areas of your interior to shield them from the sun before exiting your vehicle. - Try this weird fanning trick
Not sure if you’ve heard, but apparently another trick to getting your car cooled quickly is opening the driver’s side door, rolling down the window and creating a “fanning” motion by opening and closing the door several times in a row to recirculate the air. Thrillest found this cooling method to work even faster than driving with your windows down. Who knew?!
If you’re on the hunt for a new or used car this summer and need help getting approved for financing, a car dealership enrolled in the Credit Acceptance program can help. Simply fill out the auto finance pre-qualification form on our website to get started.
Click here to begin your online pre-qualification process
