Have you ever come out to your vehicle in the middle of the summer only to feel like you’re entering a superheated rainforest the moment you open your door to get behind the wheel? It’s a fact that the interior of an automobile can reach temperatures far exceeding how hot it is on the outside. It’s for this very reason that safety officials stress the importance of never leaving a child or a pet in a hot car. It takes a matter of minutes for the temperature to climb up in double digit increments, and that heat only increases as more time goes on.
Although most citizens would (hopefully) understand that keeping a kid or an animal in a hot car is far beyond dangerous, many people probably don’t even know about a function commonplace in most new vehicles. Most motorists rely on the air conditioning and a rolled down window to cool them down once they start their car, but did you know that you don’t have to wait to start your vehicle to begin the cool-down process?
In many automobiles, rolling down the windows is as simple as pressing a button, even while positioned outside the vehicle itself. Most owner’s manuals can explain the function, but realistically, how many people look at their owner’s manuals all that much?
The next time you go to your vehicle, try this: press the unlock button and then let go just as you normally would. Then, press the button again, except this time, be sure to hold it down with your finger. Within moments, the windows will begin to roll down (assuming that your car comes equipped with this function). And this isn’t limited to vehicles with remote entries. The same result can be had by simply turning the key clockwise once, letting go, and then turning it again but holding the key in place. Not surprisingly, turning the other way will send the windows shooting back up.
As summer draws to a close, hopefully this tip can make your commute just a bit more pleasant.