Details to check on your car during the rainy season

The rainy season brings heavy rains that not only cause discomfort for many people but also for the accompanying cars. Therefore, checking and maintaining cars at this time is necessary.

Changing air temperatures and rains will cause joints and parts to deteriorate quickly, and if not checked, serious damage will result.

1. Electrical system

Normally, manufacturers often place the ECU control system and battery in a fairly high position. These positions are often difficult for rainwater to reach. However, during the rainy season, rats often enter the house, making it difficult for users to avoid the risk of rats entering the engine compartment and gnawing on electrical wires.

Especially low positions such as power supply wires for fog lights, brake sensors, reverse sensors... Therefore, checking the power lines for these parts is important to ensure safe operation.

Nowadays, upgrading exterior equipment, especially lighting systems, is quite popular. In the process of replacing the original lights with bi-xenon or LED lights, the worker often has to disassemble the entire light cluster.

The lamp assembly is then usually reattached with industrial glue or silicone. Over time, these glue joints can wear out, allowing water to seep in. This can cause a short circuit or dim the lamp.

For vehicles with roof racks or sunroofs, the joints also need to be checked to make sure no water gets into the cabin when driving in the rain.

In the Vietnamese market, manufacturers often provide all-season tires or summer tires because the temperature difference is not too large between seasons of the year.

However, driving on slippery roads with worn tires also poses many safety risks. Worn tires will make acceleration/deceleration and braking travel much longer than normal. And these two criteria will be reduced many times over in slippery road conditions.

For many people this may sound funny, however for popular car models using rear drum brakes this is very necessary. When exposed to rain, drum brakes will often have more friction than normal. Therefore, the phenomenon of brakes sticking after being left overnight will occur.

With disc brakes, users must also regularly check for dirt, sand, and dust stuck on the surface of the brake disc or seeping into the brake system. This will also cause braking efficiency and the life of internal components to decrease rapidly.

Normally, when a car leaves the factory, the manufacturer will cover the underside of the car with a layer of paint or anti-corrosion and anti-rust chemicals. Depending on the value of the car, this layer will be thick or thin, and over time, these layers will also lose their effectiveness or age.

When operating in rainy, wet conditions, the underbody will be affected if not properly protected. Checking and replacing with a new underbody coating is also quite simple.

The cost for this is also around 2-3 million VND, depending on the amount of undercoating chemicals used. Most professional car care centers have the skills and techniques to do this job.

This is also quite necessary for old cars. Rubber gaskets are often placed on car doors, hoods, windshields, etc. to prevent rainwater from entering the cabin and engine.

Imagine driving through a flooded area with loose rubber seals, water will seep inside and damage the interior and electrical systems.

Rubber gaskets rarely need to be replaced because they are relatively durable. However, there are care products on the market that can help extend the life of these parts. When properly cared for, rubber gaskets can also help improve sound insulation and sound absorption when the vehicle is in operation.

There are also some other small tips to help the car operate better when the rainy season comes, such as replacing the wipers if necessary, nano-coating the windshield to create a lotus leaf effect and reduce rainwater condensation on the windshield, increasing visibility when moving in the rain...

Quang Hai