You may love the heat of summer, but you need to help your car keep its cool when temperatures rise.
Mike Filice of Johnboy’s Towing says the change in weather means an increase in calls.
"We took a call for a vehicle that apparently overheated," Filice explained. "It’s going to be towed to the dealership."
Blown out tires and overheated cars are at the top of the list when it comes to needing a tow, especially with the warmer weather.
"A lot of people are coming in from out of the area," Filice explained. "We’ll see an increase in that and on the weekend."
Friday afternoon, we met Alex Soto visiting from the Central Valley pulled over on the Cuesta Grade.
"I was pressing my foot pedal as hard as I could and I guess it wasn’t going anywhere you know, it wasn’t accelerating, it wasn’t doing anything so I was like, ‘oh no, this is not good,’" Soto explained.
California Highway Patrol officers patrol this highway to make sure drivers are safe.
"Areas where you have any type of incline, for instance, the Cuesta Grade, you tend to see a higher amount of vehicles breaking down due to overheats, transmission problems things of that nature," said Officer Mike Poelking, CHP.
Brian Archer of Rizzoli’s Automotive says it’s important to keep an eye on your temperature gauge.
"Most cars run in the middle of cold and hot," Archer said. "The most important thing to know where those lights are if your vehicle does overheat, you can pull over as soon as you can to not do internal damage to the engine from overheating."
He says the best way to prevent your car from overheating is to have it inspected before a road trip.
"They can inspect the coolant system for leaks and they can also make sure it has the proper amount of coolant in it and the proper mixture of coolant in it," he said.
Johnboy’s Towing is planning for a busy weekend ahead.
"A higher percentage of calls are from people who are from out of the area," Filice said.
It’s also recommended that you take a bottle of coolant in your car with you as well as a large jug of water in case you run into trouble.
