| By Chilton Staff |
Ah, the dog days of summer, when getting in the car can mean grabbing scorching door handles and sliding into sizzling seats. Experts recommend rolling down windows and driving 10-20 seconds before starting the AC for best results. But what if there’s no AC? It can mean sweltering in your car.
Even reduced airflow can be a problem. When Anna picked up her son from school the other day, it was 90 degrees and humid. She turned the AC up, but very little cool air was coming out of the vents.
While waiting for her 2nd grader, she logged into her library account and opened ChiltonLibrary.
She selected the year, make, and model of her car to delve into the database that specifically pertains to her car. In the air conditioning diagnostics, she found a description of the issue her car had and the possible causes.
One potential culprit was a dirty cabin air filter. Anna didn’t even know her car had a filter and had never changed it. She stopped at the auto parts store on the way home and followed the instructions in ChiltonLibrary to replace the filter. She was amazed at how dirty the old filter was. Luckily, replacing it was a breeze, and it solved the problem.
Changing cabin air filters is just one of the air conditioning system maintenance tasks automakers recommend. Regular maintenance of the components of the climate control system is a great way to keep the air conditioning system chill longer. In the maintenance chart, vehicle manufacturers list recommended maintenance items and how often to perform them for each specific year, make, and model. ChiltonLibrary, as well as the owner manual, have maintenance schedules.
For times when the AC is not working, ChiltonLibrary covers servicing and repairing radiators, compressors, fans, and other components of vehicle cooling and air conditioning systems. And, as air conditioning technology evolves, Chilton coverage evolves along with it to include new automotive technologies. Along with traditional air conditioning systems, ChiltonLibrary contains information for heat pumps, a very efficient technology used to both heat and cool some vehicle interiors, such as the 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric.
Library patrons may tap into ChiltonLibrary through their home computers, phones, iPads, or tablets around the clock, in addition to accessing the information at the library. Not a current subscriber? Don’t sweat—take ChiltonLibrary for a test drive or contact your library consultant.