Getting a car ready for a Mohave County summer

Nearly every roadside failure here in July was findable in April. This is the list, in the order that matters, with the honest reason each item is on it.

The Arizona summer car checklist starts with air conditioning

An AC system that is slightly low on refrigerant feels adequate in April and blows warm in July, because the temperature difference it has to produce has doubled.

Worth doing before summer: gauges on the system to read pressures, a look at the condenser face for packed dust and debris, confirmation that the cooling fans actually run, a cabin filter check, and a vent temperature reading.

The reason to do it early is not comfort. A system running low on refrigerant is also running low on the oil that circulates with it, and that is what destroys compressors. A leak repair at $200 to $400 in spring is a compressor at $700 to $1,500 in August, plus flushing the system of the debris the failure sent through it.

Reading this with one of these in front of you? One call, one local mobile mechanic company serving Kingman, and you get their name before anyone comes out.

Call (928) 482-3009

Cooling system

Same principle, higher stakes. Check hoses by feel: they should be firm and slightly pliable, not hard, glassy, spongy or swollen. Check the coolant level and its condition; rusty or oily coolant is a finding. Check that the radiator face is not packed with dust, which happens quickly on dirt roads.

Confirm the fans cut in. The simplest test is letting the engine idle up to temperature with the AC on and listening.

And know your coolant's service life. Long-life coolants last years, not forever, and once the corrosion inhibitors are exhausted the system begins corroding from the inside, which shows up as a radiator that can no longer shed heat.

Battery and charging

If the battery is three years old or more, have it load tested. Not a voltage reading, a load test.

Clean the terminals if there is any corrosion, and check the cables are tight. A furred terminal makes a healthy battery behave like a dying one, and people replace the battery instead of the $12 cable end.

Have the charging system checked at the same time, with the engine running and loads switched on. An alternator that copes at idle and collapses under load is failing, even though a quick check calls it fine.

Tyres, fluids and the rest

Tyres. Check pressures cold, in the morning, not after a run. Hot pavement plus underinflation is what causes blowouts. Look at the date code as well as the tread: here, tyres age out in the sun before they wear out.

Oil. If you are near the interval, do it before summer rather than after. Heat is hard on oil, and short trips make it worse.

Brake fluid. Absorbs moisture over time, which lowers its boiling point. Two to three years is a reasonable interval, and sooner if you tow or drive grades.

Wipers and washer fluid. Blades dissolve in this sun, and the monsoon arrives suddenly in July and August with dust and rain together.

Belts. Cracks across the ribs mean it is due. A belt that fails takes the water pump drive and the alternator with it.

Carry water, and mean it

This is the item people skip and the one most likely to matter.

A breakdown between Kingman and the lake, or out on I-40 toward Yucca, is a heat problem before it is a mechanical one. This is one of the hottest corners of Arizona: temperatures run past 105°F for weeks, there is very little shade, and distances are deceptive. A vehicle with no air conditioning becomes dangerous quickly for children, older passengers and animals.

Keep water in the vehicle year-round, stay with it if you break down, and say on the phone if you have no AC or have passengers who are vulnerable to heat. If anyone is showing signs of heat illness, that is a 911 call rather than a mechanic call. The roadside page covers the rest.