Unbearable Heat Inside Cars

Steering wheels are too hot to touch. Leather seats can burn your skin, and it’s taking the air conditioner some time to cools things off in your car.

While thermometers across the region are rising into the 90’s, readings in your car can be about 30 to 40 degrees hotter.

"It’s instantaneously. You shut off your air conditioner and you come inside someplace. Within seconds, your temperature is rising because everything is glass, and it’s just absorbing the heat, " says AutoZone Parts and Service Manager, Kent Ferguson.

There are certain materials inside your car that are major conductors of heat, including dark plastics, metals, and chrome, but there are some steps you can take to make things a little more bearable.

"Crack the windows when you leave the car, no large amounts so somebody can get in, but just a small amount to let the hot air vent out. There’s steering wheel covers, cushions-the kind of fluffy material that makes it more comfortable on your hands. There are the reflectors you put in your windshield to keep the sun-it basically reflects the heat back out, " says Ferguson.

Make sure you check your battery, radiator system, and air conditioner system too because Ferguson says the heat can be hard on them and cause them to stop working.