Tips for Maintaining Your Car's AC this Summer | Royal Moore Toyota
Because your air-conditioner keeps you cool on long drivers under the hot summer sun, you want this vital piece of equipment to be in top shape. To that end, Royal Moore Toyota in Hillsboro, OR, offers these tips for maintaining your car’s AC.
Run it weekly.
You’ll easily run your air-conditioner every day during the hot days of summer. But even in the dead of winter, you should run your AC at least once a week for a minimum of ten minutes. This keeps the compressor in good shape and maintains gas pressure. You’ll also be able to detect problems and get them fixed before you really need to rely on the cooling.
Try running your system on defrost mode as well, which prevents mildew and other growth, and avoids the unpleasant odors of those organisms. This also eliminates excess moisture.
Change the cabin air filter.
Your vehicle will most likely have two kinds of air filters. The first is the engine air filter that ensures that clean air goes into your engine to mix with fuel and provide power.
The second is the cabin air filter, which is often located behind the glove compartment. It keeps clean air flowing into your climate control system by trapping fine particles of dust, dirt, pollen, and other contaminants. If your air conditioner is not performing as well as it should or you smell foul air, it’s likely that your cabin air filter is clogged with dirt and debris and needs replacing.
You should change this filter every 15,000 miles or once each year, depending on how often you drive and whether our environment is dusty or polluted.
Operate it properly.
For best results, open your car windows and the fresh air vents when you first drive to allow hot air to escape and cool air to come in. Then turn on the AC to help with clearing the air, and then shut the windows and vents, so your climate control system continues working with air that keeps getting cooler.
Don’t allow your AC to run while your car is idling for long periods or you may tax your system unnecessarily.
You want to run your air-conditioner at the lowest temperature, which makes it run more efficiently and saves fuel.
Your owner’s manual will be your best source of how to operate your air-conditioner, so spend time reading the pages.
Keep the Ducts Clean
Under your windshield on the outside, you’ll find air vents, which is how outside air gets into your cabin. If they are covered with the remains of Mother Nature, such as leaves and branches, fresh air cannot get into your cabin through the AC.
You want to check these vents every so often because they tend to accumulate debris. Remove this accumulation to allow air to flow freely. Another issue if you let leaves stay on the vents is that they may start growing mold, which can be blown into the cabin via the AC. If you breathe enough of this in, you may get sick.
Park in the shade.
You already know what happens to the interior when you park your vehicle directly under the sun. The cabin can get very hot, which means your AC has to work far harder just to get you cool. If you park in the shade, you prevent the sun from heating up the interior. If you can’t park in the shade, at least put some sunshades inside your windshield to block some of the solar rays.
Don’t skip regular maintenance.
When you take your car into our Service Department for regular maintenance, it is serviced by factory-certified auto technicians who specialize in the Toyota brand. We know how to diagnose any problems quickly and make any repairs efficiently. We only use manufacturer-vetted components to keep your vehicle running like new.
One of the things we look at during maintenance is your AC system. We make sure that none of the hoses are leaking and that all the components are working correctly. If we discover any issues, we’ll recommend solutions, so you can keep using your climate control system efficiently when you pick up your vehicle.
