Cars Driven In Tempe Will Need Maintenance More Often

Volkswagen Ready For Repair In Tempe
Located between Phoenix and Mesa, and home of one of the several Arizona State University (ASU) campuses, Tempe is a tightly packed slice of Arizona. If you live here or just drive here often because of school, there are some dangers you should be aware of. Not dangers for yourself, but rather for your vehicle.

The climate is very typical of what you would expect from Arizona: hot, dusty, and dry. The average high temperature ranges between 100 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit from June through September. This can wreak havoc on the inside of your car. The heat can also damage tires, batteries, belts, hoses, and more. Fluids must be checked with greater frequency. And the dust blowing around everywhere can clog your air filters in a matter of days.

The bottom line is, you must plan on more than the regular amount of car maintenance here in a desert climate like ours.

Here's a closer look at a few of the vehicular dangers you can expect to encounter and what you can do to prepare for or avoid them.

Check The Battery Often

The battery might take the most damage from the heat and there's unfortunately nothing that can be done to stop it at the moment. Cold weather makes it harder for a battery start, but the hot weather actually reduces the amount of power it can produce.

Automotive batteries work on a combination of lead and acid. They are wet cells and the acid is often some form of sulfuric acid. As you might remember from science class, excessive heat will cause moisture to evaporate. Those 105 degree summer days will certainly do the trick. Then, when the winter months and cooler temperatures arrive, the battery can't put out enough power to start the car.

All of the dust in the air can decrease the lifespan of the battery as well. It will initially act as a conductor when building up on the battery's terminals, which causes it to drain itself more quickly. Over time, it will lead to corrosion. Luckily, you can reduce the likelihood of this happening by regularly cleaning your terminals and applying an anticorrosive coating.

Protect Those Filters

All of that Arizona dust wreaks havoc on a vehicle's internal systems. The air filter is there to help your engine “breathe” and filter out these unwanted particulates. The air filters guard the engine by preventing the dust from reaching the inside.

It doesn't take long in our desert atmosphere for any air filter to reach its  maximum capacity. Once the filter is clogged, the engine won't be able to take in in as much air as it needs to run efficiently. This leads to several problems, such as decreased mileage and less power.

Checking your owners manual or the manual for your particular air filter will give you a good idea as to how often you should check your filters. However, since you are spending so much time in our local climate, you should check it at least twice as frequently as recommended, if not more.

Don't Neglect Regular Service

With many of these problems there really isn't much you can do to avoid them. The only real solution is to seek regular maintenance for your precious ride. It might seem like an expensive endeavor, but it won't cost nearly as much as it will if you don't get it serviced and the small problems cause a big and expensive repair bill!

If you have any questions about protecting your particular automobile come and see me in person at my next Meet Up or sit up via my Contact page. I'm happy to be of assistance any time!