The heat does not only affect the body, mind and environment, but also on objects, including our cars, causing according to Federcarrozzieri (the association of Italian body shops) potential damages of up to 16,400 euros per car. As we said in another article, the hot air even complicates the take-off of planes by reducing their lift. In fact, every summer our cars have to deal with high temperatures and everything that this can have on them held and on performance, Therefore tires, battery, engine, up to the electronics that go haywire in the cockpit.
Worn tires and dry batteries
In fact, according to the association, extreme heat causes extensive damage, for example to tires which are the parts most affected. When the asphalt is hot exceeds 60 degrees, as can happen on the hottest and hottest days, the tread wears out at an accelerated rate and adhesion is reduced, resulting in possible safety consequences. A replacement, including labor, is worth between 50 and 150 euros. Another aspect to consider, and not to underestimate, is the negative effect on the battery. High temperatures accelerate self-discharge, the higher the thermometer the faster the energy dissipates, and causes internal fluids to evaporate, drying up their efficiency day after day. The spare part costs on average between 100 and 250 euros, assembly included.
The engine is also particularly affected by exposure to high temperatures. An engine working in the heat struggles to dissipate its heat, the cooling system loses efficiency and the oil, which has become more fluid than it should, lubricates worse. Meanwhile, the thermomechanical stress expands the metals, which deform and no longer respect the tolerances with which they were coupled. Wear advances, the head gasket can fail and, in extreme cases, the engine seizes and the car stops. Rebuilding an engine costs between 2,500 and 8,000 eurosdepending on whether the overhaul is partial or complete, and based on model and spare parts.
One thing is certain, that There is often a margin between the first signal and irreversible damagea course that overheating goes through manifesting recognizable symptoms before the point of no return. A very hot car can present, as you can well imagine, the temperature needle leaving the central band to enter the red zone, a warning light that lights up on the dashboardthe engine warning light, which is the most explicit signal, or the whitish steam emerging from the hooda possible indication of ongoing overheating, a strong sweet smell of coolant, which can indicate a leak or fault and finally a drop in engine power.
The passenger compartment becomes a greenhouse: the study of cars in the sun
A car left in the sun becomes a real one sealed greenhouse, where the temperature can approach 70 degrees. A 2018 study conducted by Arizona State University, published in the journal Temperature, replicated a very banal circumstance, that is, an hour spent in the sun, the time for shopping, and what emerged from the test is that the passenger compartment in those conditions recorded temperatures close to 48 degrees, with the dashboards reaching an average of 69 degrees.
At that level the materials literally begin to age quicklythermo-oxidative degradation cracks the dashboard plastics and weakens their structure, fades fabrics and seats, pushes synthetic materials to release volatile organic compounds (VOC). And since the modern car is also a computer on wheels, the heat also hits there, between digital displays and sensitive electronic components, which can go haywire. Bringing the interior back to its original state can cost from 200 up to 4,000 euros, depending on the extent of the damage.
How to protect your car from extreme heat: advice from Federcarrozzieri
Not to mention what it means to expose a car to the sun and ultraviolets which do a patient job of aesthetic erosion. From an external point of view the paint loses its shine and color depthit becomes veiled in opacity, it wrinkles with micro-cracks in the transparent layer, the plastic headlights turn yellow and become cloudy. What dirties the car in summer damages it even more, because resin and bird droppings, heated by the sun, become chemically more aggressive and attack the protective film of the bodywork more quickly. The body shop bill then goes from 150 to 600 euros to repaint a single piecea door, a bumper, and goes up between 1,300 and 4,000 euros for a full treatment, in proportion to the size of the vehicle.
“The heat represents an enemy for our cars and can cause potential damage of up to 16,400 euros per car,” explains the president of Federcarrozzieri, Davide Galli, “This is why it is important that motorists adopt some measures to best protect their vehicles: check tire pressure regularly, cold, check the condition of the tread and any deterioration, checkand the oil and coolant levelsuse a thermal cover for the battery to insulate it from excessive heat and sunshades and curtains to protect the interior of the car, avoiding parking the car in the sun”.
