Your Corner Wrench: The hot seat
Ways to cool down your car’s interior before facing the heat
The warm weather is barely upon us and many drivers already loathe the thought of opening their vehicles’ doors after being parked in the sunlight all day. So, other than arriving at work two hours early to find the only shaded spot on the parking lot, what can we do to beat the heat?
There are the obvious cheap fixes, such as buying and using a windshield shade for both the front and back glasses. These low-tech solutions are easy to apply, but you have to set them up every time you park and you need available space in your car to store them. Solar-powered window fans have come a long way in terms of function and price. Now available for as little as $20, the good ones contain a rechargeable battery to keep them running when the clouds come out. They require side windows to be left slightly ajar, but newer designs minimize this opening to lessen risk of theft.
Darker window tinting is also a common fix, but several jurisdictions in Canada have changed the rules recently as to how dark they can be, so check with regulators first.
Be warned: just because your auto’s interior fabric is designed and treated to be sun-fade-proof, the same can’t be said for other textiles that might find their way onto the seats of your ride. If it’s expensive clothing you want to keep looking good, keep it in the trunk or under cover.
The same can be said for myriad personal items. Ever wonder how those CDs strapped to a sun-visor play after a good sun-bake?
Use your doors. Unless your ride has remote start (allowing you to pre-cool it from your office window), getting the inside cool (er) is as easy as rolling down two windows on one side of the vehicle and then opening and closing an opposite side door several times (with its window closed).
Three or four swings of the door are all it takes to move out most of that stifling air.
Pop the sunroof. If you have a glass roof panel that tips open at the rear, pop it open for the first few minutes of a hot ride to get more hot air out faster. Dropping one rear side window slightly can have a similar (albeit less speedy), effect.
Top fans speeds can be too hot. Just as in winter, the air blowing through your vehicle’s HVAC system needs some contact time with the heater core or AC evaporator coil to get the best results. Dropping the blower fan one speed down from high on a hot day will lower the output temperature considerably.
Cover it up. While covering the entire vehicle can be effective to reduce sun-load heat, here we’re talking about covering the seats.
Plopping your butt down on a sun-baked vinyl or leather (ette) seat cover can leave a lasting impression (not to mention blisters). Try using an old throw blanket as a temporary cover and you can easily avoid this.