Your Car in the Summer Heat: Five Things to Check Before They Fail

A Saudi summer tests every part of a car, and most breakdowns in this season start with a small sign you can spot yourself. Take a quarter of an hour in the morning, with the engine cold, and check these five points. First, the battery. Heat weakens a battery more than cold does, and it can work perfectly until the morning the car will not start. Look at the terminals: if you see a white or green crust, clean it, and if the battery is more than three years old, have it tested at your next service. Second, tyre pressure. Air expands with heat, and an under-inflated tyre runs hotter on the motorway. Measure the pressure with the tyres cold and compare it with the figure on the driver's door, not the one printed on the tyre. Third, coolant. Never open the radiator cap with the engine hot. Look at the side reservoir instead: the level should sit between the two lines, and if it drops every week there is a leak that needs checking. Fourth, engine oil and the air filter. Oil wears faster in heat and traffic, and dust clogs the air filter and saps the engine. Pull the dipstick and check the level and colour, and shake out or replace the filter if it is dark. Fifth, the air conditioning. If it cools less than it did, start with the cabin filter before assuming it needs gas; a blocked filter alone is enough to weaken the airflow. These checks do not replace your scheduled service, but they catch a problem while it is still small.