Sun or UV rays are well-known to cause damage to the human skin. But did you know that the sun can bring damage to your BMW X5 or any other vehicle? So, it is very important that we protect our vehicles from sun damage.
In this article, I have set out 10 different ways how you can properly maintain and protect your vehicle from sun damage. As the term says, “Prevention is better than cure”. Follow our guidelines and you will be glad you did.
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Ensure that your battery is tested during the hot seasons
During the hot seasons or when it’s hot outside, usually, there is a higher load placed on your vehicle’s battery from running systems such as the air conditioning. Hence, periodic examination of your battery and charging system, in general, prevents you from bad surprises on hot days or seasons.
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Regularly inspect your fluid levels
When the conditions are very hot outside, the fluids in your car can be used up more rapidly than in normal situations. If you happen to be low on coolant, transmission fluid, or even oil, then that suboptimal condition followed by high temperatures raises the chance of damage to your lovely vehicle.
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Have the air filters inspected
During the hotter seasons, there is more dust and debris circulating in the air. This is more common in arid places and it can result in clogging the air filters in your vehicle. If it occurs, your gas mileage may suffer, and it could as well harm your mass airflow sensor, which assists to regulate the air and fuel levels in your engine.
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Regularly clean your car’s interior
The combination of dust and the hot sun can damage your car badly in the interior. Thus, you need to clean it regularly to ensure that it remains in the best condition regardless of the tough conditions. All you need to do is to use cleaners meant for automobile use in order to prevent stains and unnecessarily drying out materials in danger of cracking.
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Wash and hand-dry your car
Similar to the way dust and debris can cause damage to the interior of your vehicle when exposed to high temperatures, it can as well cause damage to the outside of your vehicle. Clean your vehicle regularly to keep the surface clean and dry it by hand with a soft cloth, so that bits of minerals and grime don’t stick to the residual moisture after rinsing.
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Utilize a protective wax
Just cleaning your car isn’t enough. You need to wax it at least twice a year so that you can lock in the natural oils in the exterior paint and offer a layer of protection not just from grimy bits that can scratch the exterior but as well from the sun’s rays.
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Utilize reflectorized sun panels on your front and rear dashes
The panels greatly reduce the overall temperature in your vehicle and allow you to utilize less air conditioning to cool the vehicle. They assist to prevent the bleaching effect the sun has on your interior surfaces and upholstery, which can reduce the value of your vehicle should you consider selling it.
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Park in a place away from sun rays
Ensure that you always park your car in a cool place like in an enclosed area, garage, under a tree, or in shade to avoid direct sunlight or sun rays. This will keep your dash from drying or even cracking.
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Carry out tire pressure inspection every month
Excessive heat, trapped air, and rubber can be a dangerous combination and is one on which your whole car rests in the summer. When the tires are underinflated, they are more likely to blow out in high temperatures. Thus, you should prevent blow out in high temperatures by inspecting the tire pressure at least once every month.
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Consider using paint protection film
A paint protection film kit goes a long way to protecting your vehicle from sun damage. Buy a kit that covers the whole car.
Embracing most of these points that we have provided above will enable your car to age gracefully and have a high resell value in case you think of selling it later. The above guidelines will assist to prevent it from sun damage and stay in the best condition.
