Just seen a spokesperson on BBC news telling drivers to switch off their air-con and open their windows to 'circulate the air' when driving slowly to prevent engines from overheating.
Is this like the story circulating a couple of weeks ago telling drivers not to fill their petrol tanks as it could cause the car to explode?
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It is just another journalist told to produce a piece about a subject he knows nothing about.
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Do petrol tanks expand in the heat? I don't know. But when my car was into the warning low-fuel area I put in 68.8 litres. The fuel tank capacity is quoted as 66 litres. Had the car nearly a year now so this was not be forcing in more fuel.
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Pipe from filler cap to tank must be worth 3 litres or so
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>>Do petrol tanks expand in the heat?
Yes, as does petrol. I don't know the relevant ratios, but I suspect petrol expands more than the plastic tank?
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>> It is just another journalist told to produce a piece about a subject he knows
>> nothing about.
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Well this breakdown company recommend the same thing for an overheating engine but what do they know
www.startrescue.co.uk/breakdown-cover/motoring-advice/breakdown-advice/-how-to-prevent-engine-overheating
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Why should an engine overheat in UK temperatures? The high temperatures we have at the moment are normal or low for some countries. A bit like a few centimetres of snow cause chaos in the UK when other countries manage metres of the stuff. An overheating car is unusual and faulty. I had one once, a top radiator hose split, this happened when I lived in Australia and it was hot. I stopped in a garage in a cloud of steam, a guy ran out a shouted "Don't turn it off" he then tapped the radiator cap off with a hammer and put a hosepipe into the radiator. I had visions of a cracked block but it cooled things down, the top hose was replaced and all was well. I am glad that one happened close to a town! Everything environmentally unusual is a drama in the UK, it is Summer, it is supposed to be hot!
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 27 Jul 18 at 22:19
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>> Why should an engine overheat in UK temperatures?
Because the current temperatures are unusually high. All those cars that are marginal on cooling but survive quite happily with ambient temps <=25 suddenly have a problem. Same with occasional high winds blowing weak trees down, and a cold snap knocking off frail people.
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I don't know if this is still the case, but when I was in in Sao Paulo in the mid 90s, my secretary bought an Astra.
She bought one that came from Belgium, Neither it's cooling nor Aircon were sufficient for the car and gave endless trouble.
At that time we were told that she should have made sure she sourced one from Mexico, since both the cooling and the aircon were different specs to a European car.
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In the past I've often thought that aircon in rental cars abroad is superior to that in my UK cars. I remember a car in the US being so cold that when I stepped out of it with my SLR the mirrors all fogged up, but I suppose that was due to humidity as much as coldness.
But my Ampera really chills well (though that was a car never really re-designed for the UK market, except becoming rh drive) and I got SWMBO a hybrid Yaris the other day and that is really cold too.
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Aircon in my Brazilian 4-Runner would actually cause me pain if I left it blowing on my leg without moving from time to time. It was cold with a capital F.
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Now I think about it, I think the only car I ever had in the UK which had strong aircon was my Phaeton.
In all the others it was sufficient for the UK but wasn't as strong as my cars out here.
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Switch off your air-con? - Old Navy
