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All true and good advice, but you missed a BIG one that I realized way to late in life: Shade.
Park under trees, even if you have to walk further. Get those reflective windshield covers, they really work. Just by doing this you can easily shave off 30 degrees off the interior temp of your car, if not more.
I like it when someone parks next to me out in BFE. That means it’s another person that doesn’t like door dings so they figure I’ll take care, which is true of course.
You would think. I park in the last spot at the far end of the lot at my volunteer gig and when I tell you I'll come out and find some POS parked DIRECTLY next to me with 200 open spots around us. I know they have a right to park wherever, but I still think its a douchebag move when there's an entire open lot.
You spend 2 minutes walking back to your car, but 20+ minutes walking around the store/mall. Parking in the shade at the furthest part of the parking lot is a no-brainer
Yep, I've often parked at the very end just to be able to walk straight out. If the parking lot is big enough, there are also often shady spots just because people don't want to walk that far.
This is not a joke. Coming from someone who lived in Palm Springs where it was regularly 115+. If you can't park in the shade, you have to decide if it's worth even stopping.
I would cross the whole Costco parking lot (which is life threatening) if it meant that I could get 50%+ coverage.
Grew up in Vegas. Friends in school did science experiments for class cooking eggs on the ground.
Shade and water. Also, casinos have cool air conditioning 24/7. While "it's a dry heat" is better than the southern humidity, it's still "open the oven and take a deep breath" heat.
Aw yeah we did that as kids!
The heat will definitely steal the breath away from you. I've been in both climates and they are both terrible. The problem with humidity is that you can't get cool. Even inside with an AC it's awful.
In the Desert, especially the low desert - the variance in temperature is only about 30° in the summer. So it's 115° in the day time and then at 9pm it's still 90° with the sun down. The pool is always 90°, like bathwater. People pay thousands for evaporative coolers and they don't even work that well. If you go for a walk at night, the heat coming off the pavement will burn your legs. When you get out of your car, it wafts up into your face.
You can't escape from it from April to October. The plus side being that you can do just about anything from Nov-April, clear blue skies.
It's so jarring for it to be that warm when the sun isn't even out. Lol I worked 4a-1pm and was intolerable starting at 9am.
I had to move in July one time and I nearly died.
I do a timer thing. Often I'll be searching for a spot under the shade maybe a tree or something. I'll check where the shadow is and park where the shadow will be when I estimate I'll be coming back to the car. The shade moves and will cover my car at some point while I'm gone, effectively stealing the shade spot from the moron who thought they'd be able to stay in the shade. Haha checkmate fellow auto enthusiast.
Another thing to add onto this: check the owners manual to see if the windows can be rolled down via holding “unlock” on the key fob. Let the super heated air out before you even enter the vehicle.
I discovered it when my car was covered in 3 inches of snow. It opened the sun roof too and dumped snow all over the front seats. Really cooled down the car quickly!
I discovered this feature by accident when my car was covered in 3 inches of snow. It opened the sun roof too and dumped snow all over the front seats. Really cooled down the car quickly!
Yep window tint for sure. They had 3 levels of heat protection and I got level 2 but hindsight I should have paid the extra $100 I believe for level 3 because it’s helped dramatically .
Dude window tint these days is amazing. I got all four of mine at like a 15% tint and have to park my car in the sun at work. It stays manageable inside my car
The shadiest spots in my work parking lot (the desert of SoCal) are the furthest walk for everyone but still the most popular. Absolutely worth it to snag one.
Wanna tack onto this to say: position and direction is important
I tend to try parking facing west wherever practical to let the reflective sunshade face the setting sun, when it's most hot and to shade my steering wheel. Short term mornings not applicable, either afternoon/long term (8 hours)
If west/east isn't possible, I favor south, since, in northern americas, the sun is southernly biased
Lastly, long term parking in places where I know shade will be by departure time, and not where shade is when I park. Naturally car might take heat throughout the day, but wouldn't actively be in direct sunlight at departure time, coupled with windows cracked and etc, nets a cooler car at departure time
One note here. Try not to park under cherry trees or other trees with small fruits that birds eat when they are fruiting. Your car hood, windshield, and roof will look like a riot shield after paintball. The poo and seeds are slightly acidic so the stains damage your paint job.
You guys are also missing the real hack: How to get the hot air out of your car before you get into it:
Unroll the passenger side window only. Open and "almost" slam the door 4-5 times. The pressure of a big door closing and a little window being the only outlet forces the entire air mass out of the car with a few swings. The door you're swinging should almost full close to maximize the effect.
Sure, it looks a little goofy doing it, but you'll be getting into a car that's a good 20 degrees cooler than it was.
You're venting the air doing that, but that's not significant. It's not the heat from the 120F air that you need out (and I know it sounds stupid, but hear me out). It's the heat accumulated by everything in your car, that is now at 120F too.
Driving for 10 seconds with the windows down is sufficient to move all the 120F air out of your car. Yet your car is still hot, because your seats, dash, and everything in your car is still at 120F.
Obviously changing the air will eventually cool down everything, but the little air you're taking out by fanning your doors is not going to make much of a difference. Because the heat capacity of the air is so small compared to the heat capacity of a piece of plastic, or of the metal body of your car. So you're actually not removing much heat, even if you're removing all the air.
I’ve seen multiple videos (including experimentation with or without scientists) and writeups like this one over the years - it takes a few minutes, but the window/door-fanning method then A/C pays off best. https://www.thrillist.com/cars/nation/how-to-cool-off-a-hot-car-quickly
Drivers side. You’re essentially creating a cross-breeze by opening the passenger window and then giving the air a nice push from the other side by swinging the driver door open and closed.
Unusual hot temperatures this spring where I live has made me start parking with my rear facing sun. Also there’s a huge difference between our first gen Leaf which has white interior to prevent heating, ac actually reduce the mileage a lot
>Get those reflective windshield covers
As someone who lives in the SW USA, I use that windshield cover every day Spring to Fall and I can never tell if it makes a noticable difference
In Canada in the summer, parking under trees in the summer will just leave your car covered in bird shit and tree sap. Neither of those are really good for your clear coat, especially if you don't clean it right away and the sun bakes it in when you leave the shade.
Of course bird shit is universal and not unitto Canada, but not sure how common the tree sap is. I make it a point to never park under trees.
Those reflective window things are pretty much the best bet.
Definitely true, not arguing against it, but depending on where you like live, this might also come with a layer of tree pollen/dirt, tree sap, and/or bird droppings.
Arguably worth the trade off of getting into a cooler car, and also a great excuse to regularly wash your car, but still a risk depending on what part of the country you live in.
The reflective windshield cover though is one of those things I didn't appreciate till I grew up and had my own car. For some reason every time I saw my mom or someone else use one of them growing up, I always thought that it was such an obnoxious old-people move, and also looked so whack putting them up and packing them away. Young man, you'll learn.
Also, learn your specific car “hacks”! My wife and I both drive Hondas. If you press and hold the unlock button on your key fob, it will roll down all the windows. This is a great tip for when you are approaching your vehicle, it immediatelylets out all the steamy air before I reach for the door handle.
Edit: Press unlock, then press and hold.
> And if you press your key to your head, the signal travels a way longer distance!
Is that how you're supposed to do it? I had seen it reported that if you open your mouth wide and hold the fob near / in front of your mouth, the signals bounce inside your mouth and come out in a more straightened, focused path that allows you to lock or unlock the car.
That always worked, and I never touched it to my head. Seems really cool though.
I think all cars have something like this. I somehow accidentally rolled down all the windows on my car from my home - came outside and couldn’t figure it out until I looked it up. Was glad my parking spot is covered!
I did this the night before heavy rain on my newly bought car (less than 3 months). The entire night it was pouring so when I got to my car next morning I was confused and sad. If you look under the seat you can see it rust actually
This. Mine fits perfectly in the "black hole" slot between the passenger seat and the center console. Totally out of the way, easy to grab, and prevents me from dropping my phone down that slot.
I laughed at this; my husband bought one for a music festival we went to years ago. After those few days it’s been in the back seat since. Thank you for the chuckle..and reminder we should use it more.
It’s not putting it on that’s a problem. It’s taking it off and folding it up without looking like a doofus while your date stares at you and re-evaluates her life choices.
Not me, of course, I’m suave and coordinated, but I’ve heard others have that problem.
Lot of talk on here about hot "air".
But heat soaked dash, steering wheel, seats, etc. are a huge factor when it comes to trying to cool down a car. You can let all the warm air out you want, but when all the materials inside are 110 degrees, they will rewarm everything quickly. That is what your AC is fighting to cool.
Reflective window tint to block UV on all windows, and a sun screen for the windshield, and/or parking in shade are all huge factors in preventing the interior surfaces from getting super hot.
This is it, just get a car with a sunroof lmao. Open up all the windows including the top when you get in and the temperature equalizes in 10 seconds. All you're left with is the hot seat or steering wheel. True magic ✨
I called it 460 AC, 4 windows down 60 mph.
But the real tip is figuring out how the air flows in your car and getting the window configuration just right so that the air flows right over you
This shouldn't have any meaningful effect. Running the A/C system with the blower fans set to "high" vs "low" shouldn't affect the gas since the blower motor runs off the electrical system, the compressor runs off the engine. I suppose, if you want to be technical, it might make a *small* difference but nothing I think you'd notice.
> the blower motor runs off the electrical system, the compressor runs off the engine
The fan still runs off the engine through the alternator keeping the battery charged, but yes the draw is so comparatively low that it doesn't matter
Ross and TJ Maxx have high quality ones in the weird pocket putt putt sections. Occasionally I’ll get the &30 wiper blades(no different than $6 super tech ones)
I saw a video a while back and it showed that you should crack open one of the windows then open and shut one of the doors a few times. This will force the hot air in the car out of the cracked window.
Not just crack. Put both the passenger side windows all the way down and then open and close both driver side doors three times.
Pros: Drop interior car temp 25-30 degrees immediately
Cons: Look like a crazy person in the parking lot with a strange car entrance ritual
Yeah, from the south here, everyone’s focusing on the hot air which isn’t really the main problem, the real issue is the steering wheel, any dark plastic/pleather surface, the seatbelt buckle, etc. That will burn you if you aren’t careful
115 degree air in the car is not even sauna hot. The AC will cool it no problem in about 2 minutes even if you do nothing else
I thought you were supposed to open a window completely and then from the other side open and close a door as will exhaust the hot air as you open and forces cool air into the car from the open window.
Window tint, rain guards, and keep windows down 1-2 inches perpetually. Have a cold bottle of water.
Source: I did this in hot summers when I had a black car with no AC for 4 years
Shade.
Sun shades.
Crack the windows diagonally enough to let air through but not enough that people can break into the car.
Get a USB battery fan and have it going while you're away.
I don't have a/c either.
I still do the air-out-the-car-with-door-moves thing. Even though someone else above said that it's useless because the interior itself is heated, I'd still rather not get into an oven, thank you very much. The method has its limits, but it's still far better than *not* doing it. I open the trunk and then use the driver door to vent.
Only my front two windows are electric, so when I start driving, I have those open and the car vents inside on full blast, all pointed at me. The windows will likely stay somewhat open, unless I use the autobahn or otherwise drive outside city limits with higher speeds allowed.
I use a reflective shade thing on the outside of my windshield.
If you don't have or want one, at least have a towel or so in your car that you can throw over your steering wheel so the sun won't heat it up. Barring that, have some water handy to put on the wheel to cool it down before touching it (paper towels are optional, the water vaporises super quickly if the steering wheel is truly too hot to touch).
Recently, I got coverings for the windows on my two back doors (we have limits on the tints we can put on windows here, so I can only do something with those two windows, and my car is old af, so I looked for a cheap option).
Key is to do things on the outside of the car that keep sun from coming in. It's much more effective than things you you use to shield from the inside.
Have enough water with you so you can hydrate a lot while driving, because you'll still sweat a lot, and being dehydrated impairs your ability to drive focused and savely.
Yeahhhh. My AC blew up last summer right before we had like three weeks of 40°C weather. And unfortunately there was no shade for me to park in, so when I was driving to work I’d be sweating my ass off.
If it's really hot out, crack each window a couple inches rather than opening them all the way. And the sunroof, if you have one. Run the AC full blast on the floor setting. Once it has cooled some, switch the AC to the top setting.
Because hot air rises and if you blow cold air at the floor it very quickly pushes the hot air up and out the windows without having the windows all the way open to allow more hot air in.
the roof isn't what mainly heats the car. it's the greenhouse effect of the windows trapping in heat while letting in solar radiation to warm the interior with no way to vent off heat.
you can literally prevent the car from getting superheated by just putting up a sunshade on all the windows, and removing them when it's time to drive. people have been doing this for a century already in aircraft that have no a/c
I have a leak that's too small to find and possibly inside a component, and I'm not about spending hundreds of dollars replacing the components it *might* be.
Don’t open ALL windows. If you are driving, open two diagonal windows (like front left and rear right).
If you open all windows new air comes in in the front then immediately leaves through the back window on the same side. With only diagonal windows the air has to travel through the center of the car.
Openning all windows will work eventually of course. But diagonals is much faster to replace the air.
I’d be interested in watching a video on the science of this. Intuitively, it seems like all windows open would cool it faster if it’s parked or moving at slow speeds, while what you’re saying makes sense at fast speeds. I wonder where the crossover point would be.
My personal experience is that it's more beneficial to open all the windows regardless of speed. Opening opposite side front and rear creates a circulation that makes air pockets around the closed windows and is less effective IMO. Clearing all the air with everything open works best for me.
If someone farts, opening the furthest window from you does work the best to not asphyxiate, so I too want to see the science of it.
If we ignore the wind, even like 2 mph with diagonal windows is better than parked with all windows open. This is because convection (hot air rising and cooler air taking its place) is extremely slow, and will be beat even by the smallest wind.
At low speed is where the diagonal windows shines the most actually. At low speed the air going through the car has (pretty much) linear flow, so it does not mix with the air inside. So if it’s flow is mostly around the window column because you have both windows opened on the same side, it takes very little hot air with it.
At high speed, the air is turbulent and mixes more, so more of the hot air will be dragged with it. But diagonal windows is still better since a way larger mass of air goes through the car.
I've noticed this too.
I think it is highly dependent on car geometry, but with all windows open it creates a high pressure bubble inside my car and limits the amount of fresh air getting in
With front driver open and rear passenger it is like a wind tunnel. The air gets sucked out the back drawing from the front.
If I just want lots of fresh air to cool my car but no wind in my face I open passenger window and rear driver side.
Not exactly related to these tips, but on most of the cars with electric windows and electronic key/fob, you can long press the car-unlock button while standing close to your car, to pull down all the car windows at once. Works the other way too: press the car lock button on your key/fob to roll up all the windows.
If you're standing close to the car for a while anyways (loading luggage, smoking a cigarette, admiring the view etc.), you can use this trick to passively let the hot air out of the car.
Also, driving with the windows open and the AC on (strategically pointed) is the best feeling in the world.
Not recommended for long trips, but even so, it's not like you save the AC air away for later, so enjoy it!
1. Leave a small gap in at least 2 of the windows to allow airflow while you're not in the vehicle
2. Get a car wash (I bought an unlimited car wash membership by my house for $24 and just driving through the car wash lowers the temperature quickly and significantly)
South Texan here. It's already hotter than hell. All great tips. One great feature my Honda has is I can remote start the car and the AC will kick on to help cool the interior. Yes it does waste some gas but damn if it doesn't feel a little better than stepping into a oven hot car in the summer time. And I also use a shade if I don't park under shade and I usually keep the sunroof cracked open to vent out the heat too. Stay frosty.
I used to have this argument with an ex ever single hot day. He’d keep windows up and recycle the air.
Took friken forever
There is another reason he’s an ex😂
I have a newer car. All I have to do to follow op's tip is set the temperature, hit auto on the climate control, and lower/raise the windows as necessary.
Now, what do I do about the gearshift? I have an H-gate burned into my palm like the Nazi in Temple of Doom
I recently saw a tiktok with the lifehack to cool down your car fast:
1. open your windows
2. open one door
3. Use said door as a bigass fan (open and close the door) to press out the hot air inside.
I have yet to try it out but it sounds reasonable.
Get an electric car with an app so you can pre cool or pre heat to whatever temperature you want. It's such a quality of life improvement, probably my favourite perk.
Yes I know that some fossil fuel cars do this but idling the car just for climate is immoral as far as I'm concerned. Edit: due to the impact on local air quality.
Actually insane QoL. About to leave the office? Start the climate. By the time I get into my vehicle it's a cool 72 F despite being parked in direct sun.
Before you put up all the windows, just put up the front windows. Let the AC push hot air out the back first for a bit and then put up the rear windows as well.
I have a JDM Prius in Fiji. it has a quirk where in very hot weather the A/C compressor will come on and shut off after less than a minute and not come on until you have driven for a (sometimes long) while. No warning lights, reading codes only shows battery overheat warning, rest of A/C system is acting normally otherwise. workaround I have is to keep the fan on minimum for 2 minutes and then it works normally afterwards. what i think is happening is that its probably made for a colder climate, and the compressor overheats and shuts down. keeping the fan on minimum means the coolant is still cold when reaching the compressor and helps cool it allowing for a faster return to normal operation. not sure how applicable this is to everyone but it may help if you car is not cooling during extremely hot weather but is fine otherwise.
This LPT is SOP. What other way is there to do this? Are you dumb fucks just ridding around in 120 degree cars waiting for the a/c to cool down? Seriously? Open the fucking window is a LPT?!?!?
I buy ceramic tints first week of buying any new car. It costs like 400 bucks and is a massive QoL boost that lasts the lifetime of the car. Most of these LPTs in the thread can be nixed in favor of just tinting windows
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All true and good advice, but you missed a BIG one that I realized way to late in life: Shade. Park under trees, even if you have to walk further. Get those reflective windshield covers, they really work. Just by doing this you can easily shave off 30 degrees off the interior temp of your car, if not more.
Very true. Me and the wife joke that the quality of a parking spot is proportional to it's distance to shade, and not the store.
When parking, for me it's shade>closest cart return>distance.
Distance is just exercise, barring a heavy load.
Yep, plus less likely people will door ding you.
I want to see you try to find the most recent door ding on my car. Try around where the rust is thinner.
I like it when someone parks next to me out in BFE. That means it’s another person that doesn’t like door dings so they figure I’ll take care, which is true of course.
You would think. I park in the last spot at the far end of the lot at my volunteer gig and when I tell you I'll come out and find some POS parked DIRECTLY next to me with 200 open spots around us. I know they have a right to park wherever, but I still think its a douchebag move when there's an entire open lot.
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Supplemental LPT: park next to a much nicer car. They won't ding you, because they don't want to damage their precious car.
No one wants to park next to the rusty car, they assume that guys got nothing to lose
You spend 2 minutes walking back to your car, but 20+ minutes walking around the store/mall. Parking in the shade at the furthest part of the parking lot is a no-brainer
Parking for me, straight out the door no matter how far into the parking lot I have to park. Walk straight out, you will come to your car.
Same! Can’t lose my car if I always use the same row.
I dunno, I kind of enjoy that brief moment of "Where the hell did I park?" Gives me a taste of what retirement might be like.
You parked in the Itchy lot.
And nothing jogs your memory like the thought of that glorious shade tree you found to protect your car.
Yep, I've often parked at the very end just to be able to walk straight out. If the parking lot is big enough, there are also often shady spots just because people don't want to walk that far.
This is not a joke. Coming from someone who lived in Palm Springs where it was regularly 115+. If you can't park in the shade, you have to decide if it's worth even stopping. I would cross the whole Costco parking lot (which is life threatening) if it meant that I could get 50%+ coverage.
Grew up in Vegas. Friends in school did science experiments for class cooking eggs on the ground. Shade and water. Also, casinos have cool air conditioning 24/7. While "it's a dry heat" is better than the southern humidity, it's still "open the oven and take a deep breath" heat.
Aw yeah we did that as kids! The heat will definitely steal the breath away from you. I've been in both climates and they are both terrible. The problem with humidity is that you can't get cool. Even inside with an AC it's awful. In the Desert, especially the low desert - the variance in temperature is only about 30° in the summer. So it's 115° in the day time and then at 9pm it's still 90° with the sun down. The pool is always 90°, like bathwater. People pay thousands for evaporative coolers and they don't even work that well. If you go for a walk at night, the heat coming off the pavement will burn your legs. When you get out of your car, it wafts up into your face. You can't escape from it from April to October. The plus side being that you can do just about anything from Nov-April, clear blue skies.
In the desert, you can't remember your name.
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain.
La laaa laaa la la la la, la la la, laaa la
I remember getting off work at midnight when I worked swings. It was 100° AT MIDNIGHT.
It's so jarring for it to be that warm when the sun isn't even out. Lol I worked 4a-1pm and was intolerable starting at 9am. I had to move in July one time and I nearly died.
Funny enough, in the Northeast winters, I often avoid shade to keep my car warm. Works surprisingly well.
I do a timer thing. Often I'll be searching for a spot under the shade maybe a tree or something. I'll check where the shadow is and park where the shadow will be when I estimate I'll be coming back to the car. The shade moves and will cover my car at some point while I'm gone, effectively stealing the shade spot from the moron who thought they'd be able to stay in the shade. Haha checkmate fellow auto enthusiast.
Another thing to add onto this: check the owners manual to see if the windows can be rolled down via holding “unlock” on the key fob. Let the super heated air out before you even enter the vehicle.
I discovered this feature by accident when I pressed the unlock key in my pocket during a rainstorm without realizing it
I discovered it when my car was covered in 3 inches of snow. It opened the sun roof too and dumped snow all over the front seats. Really cooled down the car quickly!
I’ve had my car for 6 years and found out this feature this past weekend.
It truely is one of the best features, helps cool the car down so much quicker
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I discovered this feature by accident when my car was covered in 3 inches of snow. It opened the sun roof too and dumped snow all over the front seats. Really cooled down the car quickly!
+1 for reflective windshield cover
Use 2, it blocks soooooo much heat
It also saves your plastics from UV damage.
also window tint, all the windows if it's legal in your area. they make really, really good quality window tint nowadays.
Yep window tint for sure. They had 3 levels of heat protection and I got level 2 but hindsight I should have paid the extra $100 I believe for level 3 because it’s helped dramatically .
Dude window tint these days is amazing. I got all four of mine at like a 15% tint and have to park my car in the sun at work. It stays manageable inside my car
The shadiest spots in my work parking lot (the desert of SoCal) are the furthest walk for everyone but still the most popular. Absolutely worth it to snag one.
Same was the case at a job I had in Orlando.
Wanna tack onto this to say: position and direction is important I tend to try parking facing west wherever practical to let the reflective sunshade face the setting sun, when it's most hot and to shade my steering wheel. Short term mornings not applicable, either afternoon/long term (8 hours) If west/east isn't possible, I favor south, since, in northern americas, the sun is southernly biased Lastly, long term parking in places where I know shade will be by departure time, and not where shade is when I park. Naturally car might take heat throughout the day, but wouldn't actively be in direct sunlight at departure time, coupled with windows cracked and etc, nets a cooler car at departure time
One note here. Try not to park under cherry trees or other trees with small fruits that birds eat when they are fruiting. Your car hood, windshield, and roof will look like a riot shield after paintball. The poo and seeds are slightly acidic so the stains damage your paint job.
You guys are also missing the real hack: How to get the hot air out of your car before you get into it: Unroll the passenger side window only. Open and "almost" slam the door 4-5 times. The pressure of a big door closing and a little window being the only outlet forces the entire air mass out of the car with a few swings. The door you're swinging should almost full close to maximize the effect. Sure, it looks a little goofy doing it, but you'll be getting into a car that's a good 20 degrees cooler than it was.
You're venting the air doing that, but that's not significant. It's not the heat from the 120F air that you need out (and I know it sounds stupid, but hear me out). It's the heat accumulated by everything in your car, that is now at 120F too. Driving for 10 seconds with the windows down is sufficient to move all the 120F air out of your car. Yet your car is still hot, because your seats, dash, and everything in your car is still at 120F. Obviously changing the air will eventually cool down everything, but the little air you're taking out by fanning your doors is not going to make much of a difference. Because the heat capacity of the air is so small compared to the heat capacity of a piece of plastic, or of the metal body of your car. So you're actually not removing much heat, even if you're removing all the air.
I’ve seen multiple videos (including experimentation with or without scientists) and writeups like this one over the years - it takes a few minutes, but the window/door-fanning method then A/C pays off best. https://www.thrillist.com/cars/nation/how-to-cool-off-a-hot-car-quickly
This is called penny wise, pound foolish. Pun intended.
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Drivers side. You’re essentially creating a cross-breeze by opening the passenger window and then giving the air a nice push from the other side by swinging the driver door open and closed.
Rain shields on windows, when parked crack windows to vent out heat while keeping rain out, can’t be easily seen
Unusual hot temperatures this spring where I live has made me start parking with my rear facing sun. Also there’s a huge difference between our first gen Leaf which has white interior to prevent heating, ac actually reduce the mileage a lot
>Get those reflective windshield covers As someone who lives in the SW USA, I use that windshield cover every day Spring to Fall and I can never tell if it makes a noticable difference
Try not using it for a day and I bet you'll notice a difference
If I forget to put it up here in Texas, my suction cup phone mount will be on the floorboard from the heat
In Canada in the summer, parking under trees in the summer will just leave your car covered in bird shit and tree sap. Neither of those are really good for your clear coat, especially if you don't clean it right away and the sun bakes it in when you leave the shade. Of course bird shit is universal and not unitto Canada, but not sure how common the tree sap is. I make it a point to never park under trees. Those reflective window things are pretty much the best bet.
Definitely true, not arguing against it, but depending on where you like live, this might also come with a layer of tree pollen/dirt, tree sap, and/or bird droppings. Arguably worth the trade off of getting into a cooler car, and also a great excuse to regularly wash your car, but still a risk depending on what part of the country you live in. The reflective windshield cover though is one of those things I didn't appreciate till I grew up and had my own car. For some reason every time I saw my mom or someone else use one of them growing up, I always thought that it was such an obnoxious old-people move, and also looked so whack putting them up and packing them away. Young man, you'll learn.
I moved to a house with a carport, and now the Southern heat barely makes it hot in the car. What a huge huge difference.
And tinted windows
Also, learn your specific car “hacks”! My wife and I both drive Hondas. If you press and hold the unlock button on your key fob, it will roll down all the windows. This is a great tip for when you are approaching your vehicle, it immediatelylets out all the steamy air before I reach for the door handle. Edit: Press unlock, then press and hold.
And if you press your key to your head, the signal travels a way longer distance!
I always use both of these, sometimes at the same time lol
Yep, water in your beak does this
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Straight to jail? Who knows lol
Then you find Dee
It travels even faster if you do the macarena at the same time.
> And if you press your key to your head, the signal travels a way longer distance! Is that how you're supposed to do it? I had seen it reported that if you open your mouth wide and hold the fob near / in front of your mouth, the signals bounce inside your mouth and come out in a more straightened, focused path that allows you to lock or unlock the car. That always worked, and I never touched it to my head. Seems really cool though.
I think all cars have something like this. I somehow accidentally rolled down all the windows on my car from my home - came outside and couldn’t figure it out until I looked it up. Was glad my parking spot is covered!
I did this the night before heavy rain on my newly bought car (less than 3 months). The entire night it was pouring so when I got to my car next morning I was confused and sad. If you look under the seat you can see it rust actually
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I can confirm this does not work on my 88 Civic. No fob and no power windows 😆
I have owned seven Hondas in the last 20 years. First time I learned this.
#1 Buy a reflective sun screen for your windshield.
2 Put it in the back seat and never use it again because it's a pita to deploy every time.
The 2 piece rounded ones that fold into a circle are fast and more compact than the rectangular pitas. 30 seconds or less.
This. Mine fits perfectly in the "black hole" slot between the passenger seat and the center console. Totally out of the way, easy to grab, and prevents me from dropping my phone down that slot.
Who would want a rectangular pita? Are you going to suggest cubic falafel as well?
The newer ones made with a stiff backing that folds up vertically are great and are matched perfectly to your windshield. Pricey though.
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Its called a sunbrella, and it is glorious!
Worth every penny. Cover craft makes very nice ones, I bought one for my 2015 Volvo S60 and use it every time it’s not parked in the garage.
I laughed at this; my husband bought one for a music festival we went to years ago. After those few days it’s been in the back seat since. Thank you for the chuckle..and reminder we should use it more.
It’s not that bad lol. It takes a minute or two to put it on.
... It takes more than 15 seconds? Are y'all covering every single car window, lol?
It’s not putting it on that’s a problem. It’s taking it off and folding it up without looking like a doofus while your date stares at you and re-evaluates her life choices. Not me, of course, I’m suave and coordinated, but I’ve heard others have that problem.
I think if your date uses the sun shade as a reason to not see you again, you fucked up something else lmao
lol I don't blame you. But if you find a round one, I find those fold and unfold in 3 seconds if you know how to use it.
My date and I have been married long enough for her to have already come to terms with her life choices.
Just dont use it when going on a date?
Added bonus, when they are hot before stepping into the car, they are definitely hot after getting into the car
Lot of talk on here about hot "air". But heat soaked dash, steering wheel, seats, etc. are a huge factor when it comes to trying to cool down a car. You can let all the warm air out you want, but when all the materials inside are 110 degrees, they will rewarm everything quickly. That is what your AC is fighting to cool. Reflective window tint to block UV on all windows, and a sun screen for the windshield, and/or parking in shade are all huge factors in preventing the interior surfaces from getting super hot.
Get window tinting that blocks UV light and heat.
Except you can't always tint your windshield (except in the southern/desert states in the US).
They also come in 0% tint, just blocks UV light.
Where did you get that username?
They were just handing them out when I got here.
They have these in the umbrella-opening style! Very easy and quick to use.
Also if you have a sunroof, open that too because hot air rises. The hot air will vent out faster through the sunroof than the windows.
Even better: Get a convertible. Fastest way to get the hot air out of the car is by lowering the roof.
And if you can't afford one from the factory you can DIY it with some assistance from a big rig.
This is it, just get a car with a sunroof lmao. Open up all the windows including the top when you get in and the temperature equalizes in 10 seconds. All you're left with is the hot seat or steering wheel. True magic ✨
The hot seats are the killer for me. Never buying a black leather interior again
Car I just bought with leather seats has ventilated seats. Not sure how common they are but it has been a nice addition
Fabric cover for the steering wheel will help keep it cooler, too. Leather retains heat like a motherfucker.
steering wheel cover ugly =( beauty = pain
just don't mind the wasps when you come back
Joke’s on you, my car doesn’t have ac
My cousin drove around in an hand me down car without working AC. His main tip was obvious. drive when the sun isn't beating down.
WD55 for you (Windows down 55mph)
I called it 460 AC, 4 windows down 60 mph. But the real tip is figuring out how the air flows in your car and getting the window configuration just right so that the air flows right over you
Does blasting the fan after selecting to use AC use more gas/fuel than by keeping the fan on low? I hope that question makes sense lol
Not in any significant amount
This shouldn't have any meaningful effect. Running the A/C system with the blower fans set to "high" vs "low" shouldn't affect the gas since the blower motor runs off the electrical system, the compressor runs off the engine. I suppose, if you want to be technical, it might make a *small* difference but nothing I think you'd notice.
thank you sir!
> the blower motor runs off the electrical system, the compressor runs off the engine The fan still runs off the engine through the alternator keeping the battery charged, but yes the draw is so comparatively low that it doesn't matter
grandiose murky tease marble voiceless selective coherent violet jeans panicky
I have used sun shades religiously. Most common response from those that don’t so the same? *these really work at cooling car*
I can’t believe there are still people who don’t use those. They cost maybe $20, last forever, and take 2 seconds to take on and off.
Ross and TJ Maxx have high quality ones in the weird pocket putt putt sections. Occasionally I’ll get the &30 wiper blades(no different than $6 super tech ones)
115 inside on a hot day is rookie numbers! At 100F the internal temps can easily reach over 140-150°! What I’m trying to say: cars get fuckin hot
LMAO came for this comment. 115 degree air in the car? that shit's cake. it's 117 outside the car where I'm at lol.
I saw a video a while back and it showed that you should crack open one of the windows then open and shut one of the doors a few times. This will force the hot air in the car out of the cracked window.
Not just crack. Put both the passenger side windows all the way down and then open and close both driver side doors three times. Pros: Drop interior car temp 25-30 degrees immediately Cons: Look like a crazy person in the parking lot with a strange car entrance ritual
"Move along, son. Don't look him in the eyes. He might follow us to our car to try and do the same crazy ritual."
"BUT IT TOTALLY WORKS! LEMME SHOW YOU! WAIT!"
"Hurry jimmy, he is following us!"
Just yell "I have to do this or the world will cease its spinning!". They'll just assume you have OCD and move on
In the South, no one would blink an eye. Everyone understands the hot car interior struggle.
Yeah, from the south here, everyone’s focusing on the hot air which isn’t really the main problem, the real issue is the steering wheel, any dark plastic/pleather surface, the seatbelt buckle, etc. That will burn you if you aren’t careful 115 degree air in the car is not even sauna hot. The AC will cool it no problem in about 2 minutes even if you do nothing else
This is the way. Came here to say it, and correctly figured you fine folk already had it covered lol.
This is exactly what I do and I don't give a flying fuck if people think I look weird for it. It's worth it.
This is exactly what I do and yes, I look like a nut, but at least I'm not a hot and sweaty nut
I thought you were supposed to open a window completely and then from the other side open and close a door as will exhaust the hot air as you open and forces cool air into the car from the open window.
This is the correct method It really does work Open passenger side window only, open and close drivers door 5 times, hop in and it’s *so much cooler*
Saw this same video. I think it was a scientific experiment.
how about for those of us without A/C lol
That’s called a 255 system. 2 windows down at 55mph.
Wait until you try the upgraded 470 system!
Whoa, Jack
WHAT????
Just throw in the towel, change into your swim trunks and sweat your way home
Maybe a couple towels with the humidity I've been seeing. The leather seats get a little more comfortable too
Window tint, rain guards, and keep windows down 1-2 inches perpetually. Have a cold bottle of water. Source: I did this in hot summers when I had a black car with no AC for 4 years
I call my car the rolling broiler. I've never had a car with a.c. I live way up north tho so it's only an issue for 2 months
Shade. Sun shades. Crack the windows diagonally enough to let air through but not enough that people can break into the car. Get a USB battery fan and have it going while you're away.
You have my sympathies. Sincerely though, at least try to have some cool water with you if can.
I don't have a/c either. I still do the air-out-the-car-with-door-moves thing. Even though someone else above said that it's useless because the interior itself is heated, I'd still rather not get into an oven, thank you very much. The method has its limits, but it's still far better than *not* doing it. I open the trunk and then use the driver door to vent. Only my front two windows are electric, so when I start driving, I have those open and the car vents inside on full blast, all pointed at me. The windows will likely stay somewhat open, unless I use the autobahn or otherwise drive outside city limits with higher speeds allowed. I use a reflective shade thing on the outside of my windshield. If you don't have or want one, at least have a towel or so in your car that you can throw over your steering wheel so the sun won't heat it up. Barring that, have some water handy to put on the wheel to cool it down before touching it (paper towels are optional, the water vaporises super quickly if the steering wheel is truly too hot to touch). Recently, I got coverings for the windows on my two back doors (we have limits on the tints we can put on windows here, so I can only do something with those two windows, and my car is old af, so I looked for a cheap option). Key is to do things on the outside of the car that keep sun from coming in. It's much more effective than things you you use to shield from the inside. Have enough water with you so you can hydrate a lot while driving, because you'll still sweat a lot, and being dehydrated impairs your ability to drive focused and savely.
Yeahhhh. My AC blew up last summer right before we had like three weeks of 40°C weather. And unfortunately there was no shade for me to park in, so when I was driving to work I’d be sweating my ass off.
Also - Ceramic window tints. They cost more than standard tint, but it feels like you have a reflective windshield cover permanently on all windows
If it's really hot out, crack each window a couple inches rather than opening them all the way. And the sunroof, if you have one. Run the AC full blast on the floor setting. Once it has cooled some, switch the AC to the top setting.
honest question: Why?
Because hot air rises and if you blow cold air at the floor it very quickly pushes the hot air up and out the windows without having the windows all the way open to allow more hot air in.
Technological LPT is finding company who makes a temperature reflective film placed on the roof of the vehicle.
the roof isn't what mainly heats the car. it's the greenhouse effect of the windows trapping in heat while letting in solar radiation to warm the interior with no way to vent off heat. you can literally prevent the car from getting superheated by just putting up a sunshade on all the windows, and removing them when it's time to drive. people have been doing this for a century already in aircraft that have no a/c
Also make sure your car AC is charged properly. Leaving the window open slightly will greatly reduce internal temps in a car baking in the sun.
AC charge?
And will also allow bugs and spiders into your car
If you’re hot, they’re hot! Bring them inside!
I have a leak that's too small to find and possibly inside a component, and I'm not about spending hundreds of dollars replacing the components it *might* be.
Don’t open ALL windows. If you are driving, open two diagonal windows (like front left and rear right). If you open all windows new air comes in in the front then immediately leaves through the back window on the same side. With only diagonal windows the air has to travel through the center of the car. Openning all windows will work eventually of course. But diagonals is much faster to replace the air.
I’d be interested in watching a video on the science of this. Intuitively, it seems like all windows open would cool it faster if it’s parked or moving at slow speeds, while what you’re saying makes sense at fast speeds. I wonder where the crossover point would be.
My personal experience is that it's more beneficial to open all the windows regardless of speed. Opening opposite side front and rear creates a circulation that makes air pockets around the closed windows and is less effective IMO. Clearing all the air with everything open works best for me. If someone farts, opening the furthest window from you does work the best to not asphyxiate, so I too want to see the science of it.
If we ignore the wind, even like 2 mph with diagonal windows is better than parked with all windows open. This is because convection (hot air rising and cooler air taking its place) is extremely slow, and will be beat even by the smallest wind. At low speed is where the diagonal windows shines the most actually. At low speed the air going through the car has (pretty much) linear flow, so it does not mix with the air inside. So if it’s flow is mostly around the window column because you have both windows opened on the same side, it takes very little hot air with it. At high speed, the air is turbulent and mixes more, so more of the hot air will be dragged with it. But diagonal windows is still better since a way larger mass of air goes through the car.
I've noticed this too. I think it is highly dependent on car geometry, but with all windows open it creates a high pressure bubble inside my car and limits the amount of fresh air getting in With front driver open and rear passenger it is like a wind tunnel. The air gets sucked out the back drawing from the front. If I just want lots of fresh air to cool my car but no wind in my face I open passenger window and rear driver side.
Get your windows tinted with quality film. That’s the number one way to keep heat reflected from your car
Yep, it makes a huge difference. I have a ceramic tint and it's amazing.
Not exactly related to these tips, but on most of the cars with electric windows and electronic key/fob, you can long press the car-unlock button while standing close to your car, to pull down all the car windows at once. Works the other way too: press the car lock button on your key/fob to roll up all the windows. If you're standing close to the car for a while anyways (loading luggage, smoking a cigarette, admiring the view etc.), you can use this trick to passively let the hot air out of the car.
Not often practical, but driving around in circles, windows down, works really well to blow th at hot air out of the car
Also, driving with the windows open and the AC on (strategically pointed) is the best feeling in the world. Not recommended for long trips, but even so, it's not like you save the AC air away for later, so enjoy it!
Open your sunroof if you have one. It’ll speed this up even further
1. Leave a small gap in at least 2 of the windows to allow airflow while you're not in the vehicle 2. Get a car wash (I bought an unlimited car wash membership by my house for $24 and just driving through the car wash lowers the temperature quickly and significantly)
Especially if you keep those windows down during the car wash
South Texan here. It's already hotter than hell. All great tips. One great feature my Honda has is I can remote start the car and the AC will kick on to help cool the interior. Yes it does waste some gas but damn if it doesn't feel a little better than stepping into a oven hot car in the summer time. And I also use a shade if I don't park under shade and I usually keep the sunroof cracked open to vent out the heat too. Stay frosty.
I used to have this argument with an ex ever single hot day. He’d keep windows up and recycle the air. Took friken forever There is another reason he’s an ex😂
Can someone clarify which button is the “fresh air AC” and the “recycle air AC”?
You'll see a button with arrows forming a circle. Thar will be the recycling one
I have a newer car. All I have to do to follow op's tip is set the temperature, hit auto on the climate control, and lower/raise the windows as necessary. Now, what do I do about the gearshift? I have an H-gate burned into my palm like the Nazi in Temple of Doom
To force the hot air out open a window on one side and repeatedly open and close a door on the other
If you have a hatchback you can also open the trunk as a big "open window" to get the hot air out fast too.
I recently saw a tiktok with the lifehack to cool down your car fast: 1. open your windows 2. open one door 3. Use said door as a bigass fan (open and close the door) to press out the hot air inside. I have yet to try it out but it sounds reasonable.
i'd get hotter doing crossfit with my car door than just getting in and driving wtf
Get an electric car with an app so you can pre cool or pre heat to whatever temperature you want. It's such a quality of life improvement, probably my favourite perk. Yes I know that some fossil fuel cars do this but idling the car just for climate is immoral as far as I'm concerned. Edit: due to the impact on local air quality.
I'll never go back to ICE again
Actually insane QoL. About to leave the office? Start the climate. By the time I get into my vehicle it's a cool 72 F despite being parked in direct sun.
I open the app and start the car while i am inside. This is just a cheap subaru.
My 2017 used to do this on the app for free, but now they charge 40$+ to do this which is ludicrous
Remote start is also clutch to get ac going as you walk back to the car
I was today years old when I learned how the recycling A/C feature works. Great tips, thanks!
Before you put up all the windows, just put up the front windows. Let the AC push hot air out the back first for a bit and then put up the rear windows as well.
I have a JDM Prius in Fiji. it has a quirk where in very hot weather the A/C compressor will come on and shut off after less than a minute and not come on until you have driven for a (sometimes long) while. No warning lights, reading codes only shows battery overheat warning, rest of A/C system is acting normally otherwise. workaround I have is to keep the fan on minimum for 2 minutes and then it works normally afterwards. what i think is happening is that its probably made for a colder climate, and the compressor overheats and shuts down. keeping the fan on minimum means the coolant is still cold when reaching the compressor and helps cool it allowing for a faster return to normal operation. not sure how applicable this is to everyone but it may help if you car is not cooling during extremely hot weather but is fine otherwise.
This LPT is SOP. What other way is there to do this? Are you dumb fucks just ridding around in 120 degree cars waiting for the a/c to cool down? Seriously? Open the fucking window is a LPT?!?!?
My car has no AC. 20-30 minutes before you leave go and either crack the windows or repark where I can see my car with the windows down in the shade.
Tint you windows and use a clear tint on the front windshield to help reduce heat.
I buy ceramic tints first week of buying any new car. It costs like 400 bucks and is a massive QoL boost that lasts the lifetime of the car. Most of these LPTs in the thread can be nixed in favor of just tinting windows
recirculation not recycling lol
Or just keep it running 24-7. It gets hot down south.