How to Keep Your Car Cool in Summer Heat

Step-by-Step Process

Block Heat Before It Builds Up

A reflective windshield sunshade is the single most effective low-cost tool for reducing parked cabin temperature, since the windshield is typically the largest source of direct solar heat gain. Deploy it any time you'll be parked for more than a few minutes in direct sun.

The Environmental Protection Agency has documented how reflective materials reduce solar heat absorption, a principle that applies directly to how sunshades work on a parked windshield.

Use Shade and Airflow Together

Parking in shade reduces heat buildup from the start, but combine it with a sunshade since shade position shifts throughout the day. If you're only stepping away briefly and it's safe to do so, cracking windows slightly allows some heat to vent rather than fully trapping it.

Breathable seat cover material also helps reduce how hot the seats themselves feel when you return to a parked car, since trapped heat in seat foam can linger even after the cabin air has been ventilated.

Pre-Cool Before You Drive

Running the air conditioning with windows cracked for the first minute of driving helps push out the hottest trapped air faster than running AC with windows fully closed from a cold start. This is especially useful after a car has been parked in direct sun for hours.

If your vehicle has remote start, using it a few minutes before you get in lets the AC begin working before you're even in the car.

Continue learning: How to Protect Your Car Interior from Wear & Tear · The Complete Car Interior Cleaning & Organization Guide