Car Parts to Check Before the Heat Comes On

Winter is over, the sun has come to its senses, the day has lengthened and our car is acquainted with the high temperatures. After the winter, it is good to check some aspects, if we want to make sure that we will have a warm-season without problems. 

 When the day temperature reaches 25 degrees, it is clear that we are entering summer faster and faster. We get rid of the cold, the winter tires, the frozen doors, and the dirt on the road. But it doesn't hurt to take a look at our car before summer comes, to make sure that unpleasant events will be completely missed, especially during the holidays.

1. Freon

Usually, in winter, drivers do not turn on the air conditioning. But this is a mistake because, with the AC on, the engine heats up faster, but the windshield also deflates much faster. But most do not turn on the AC, and this can lead to drying of the o-rings, ie the gaskets, because the freon mixed with oil no longer circulates through the circuit and does not lubricate them.

Chances are that after a period of a few months in which we did not turn on the air conditioning, we will wake up without freon. One gasket cracked and all the gas evaporated. It's easy to check if we still have good freon or not: if the compressor starts when we press the button with the flake, we have freon, as without pressure the compressor would not start.

And we realize if we feel cold air coming on the vents.

2. Antifreeze

Antifreeze levels tend to drop in the cold season. Because the temperature changes, from -20 degrees to +80 when the engine is at maximum temperature, cause some gaskets to fail. Not much, not enough to realize, but it gives way.

That is, the antifreeze starts to leak easily, which generally drips on the engine block and evaporates, without seeing a puddle under the car. So it is good to take a look at the antifreeze, both in terms of level and efficiency, checking its ability to withstand frost and boiling. This is done with a device that has any service or that you can buy from anywhere, even from a Supermarket.

3. Brake pads

When driving in winter through moisture, melted snow mixed with salt, and snow removal solutions, the brakes suffer. Dirty water enters between the discs and the plates, and the particles begin to gnaw on their surface.

Moreover, there is a risk of locking the calipers, especially in old cars with rusting springs that release the parking brake. We can look at the braking system ourselves, when we change tires at home or when vulcanizing. If we see worn plates, discs with deep grooves, or rust on the stirrups, it is good to visit a service.

We would not want to go on a vacation and, although the car brakes well, we wake up that a stirrup crashes and emits smoke.

4. Headlights

Due to the winter and the sand and the salt raised by the cars driving in front of us, the headlights are dull. Especially those that have plastic glass and not glass, that is … most newer cars. The sand mixed with melted snow works like sandpaper on the window, and if we have a long winter, we will surely have headlights with problems.

And since we don't want to be caught somewhere in the summer and we don't have good visibility, we have to take action. That is, let's look at the headlights and, if the glass surface is matte, either change it or take it to a reconditioning center or recondition them ourselves with a kit that makes them like us, for example, Visbella.

There were many cases of accidents that could have been avoided if the driver had had better headlights to see the cyclist in front of him …

5. The oil

Not only in winter, or at the end of winter, but the oil is good to be checked quite often.

During the winter, some gaskets may leak and oil leaks may increase, so before the heat comes, it's a good idea to check the oil once more. First, check the oil for heat. That is after we come from a road when the engine is hot, we let the car standstill, on the right road, with the engine stopped, for about 10–20 minutes.

Then we can check the level on the dipstick. We can do it even after the car has been standing for a long time, but when the oil is cold and if we are not straight, being less viscous it can look less on the dipstick. If necessary, we fill it, and if the level is black and contaminated, we change it together with the oil filter.