By Karen Cohilas - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – The brutally hot weather continues tonight, and it's not just people, pets and plants feeling the heat, cars are having problems, too. From dead batteries to blown tires, extreme heat has an affect on vehicles.
Mechanics are seeing a lot of vehicles that have overheated or blown out tires on the road.
Mike Thi and his crew at Precision Tune Auto work on hundreds of cars a week, and as this brutally hot weather continues its beat down on South Georgia, they're seeing more with heat related problems. He said, "A lot of overheating, radiators cracking, water pump leaking, coolant reservoirs, water pump leaking, coolant reservoirs leaking, upper and lower radiator hoses have cracks in them from the heat."
Problems that cost a lot of money for car owners. That's why Thi says preventative maintenance is best. He said, "'Cause you're going to spend a lot of money, your blown head gaskets, radiators, thermostats, hoses, little things like that, maintenance can prevent you from spending $1200, $1300 in services."
He says you may not know what all those hoses, and fluids do for your car, but they are vital to its proper operation. "Just like you have fluid in your body," said Thi. "If you're a runner, you run all day long with no water, you're going to overheat yourself. Same thing as a car, same basic setup, same style."
To keep your car running in style, in even the hottest conditions.
Here are just a few things you should check on: Make sure your radiator has plenty of and the right type of coolant, but don't check it or add any when the car is hot, let it cool down first. Also, make sure your tires are properly inflated. You should check the air pressure once a week and make sure you regularly have your oil changed.
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