Categories: Tips & Tricks

How to keep your car cool during the summer months

Alberta’s temperature record was set in 1931, with thermometers in Bassano Dam giving readings of 43.3 Celcius– suffice it to say that our province can get quite toasty when the calendar shifts to summer, and our vehicles are often impacted the most. Getting into a hot car on a hot summer day is annoying, but it also poses great risks and hazards if you’re not careful. So, today our Sherwood Ford team wants to show you some helpful tips on how to keep your car cool during the summer months – be safe!

Use a Sunshade or Window Visor

Sunshades are a cheap and effective method of reducing the temperature inside your vehicle – they’re constructed from light, reflective materials, and can help keep your model about 10 degrees cooler.

Park in the Shade Whenever Possible

Of course, an even better method to keeping your vehicle cool is to park in a shady place, or the garage if you have one at your house. With reduced exposure from the sun, your seating surfaces, metals, and other items will be kept safe and sound for the next time you have to get inside.

Cover Valuables and Exposed Metals

If you’re in a pinch, we recommend grabbing some towels from home and placing them over anything you’ll be touching (like seats and your steering wheel) when you’re about to leave your Ford in the sun. If nothing else, it won’t be scalding hot when you get back in.

Health risks to animals and children in hot vehicles

It’s about now when we should tell about the biggest risk of hot cars – danger to young kids and pets. Hot air that builds up inside your vehicle is trapped, which can rocket the interior temperature of your Ford model on hot summer day up to 90 celcius in a matter of minutes!

Heat stroke can plague pets and children if you leave them inside your vehicle, and we can’t stress enough how dangerous and fatal this can be. Whenever you’re exiting your model, make sure that you have everyone accounted for, and if you can’t, the best course of action is to roll all your windows down so that air is able to circulate.

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Climate control features on new Ford vehicles

The best news for summer driving is that Ford has plenty of great technologies in its new models to keep you circulating cool air. The first is Global Open and Close Windows – by pressing the unlock button on your key fob for three seconds, all the windows (and sunroof, if applicable) of your Ford model will roll down so that cool air can enter.

Your Ford model also offers settings that allow you to operate your climate control system with its Remote Start feature. This means that as soon as you crank your model’s engine, its air conditioning will be flowing at the last temperature setting you inputted. It’s just one more way that Ford models work to keep you safe and comfortable year-round!

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