More than being a whim, parking the car in a shady spot during a heat wave becomes a necessity. According to data from the National Police, the interior can reach up to 70 degrees when the outside is 39, a temperature that will be reached in many parts of Spain throughout this week. In relation to this, a viral trick from TikTok It promises to protect your steering wheel from the sun, reduce its temperature while the vehicle is parked, and therefore make it easier to use when you return to the passenger compartment. However, there are several reasons why you should ignore it..
Burning yourself with the steering wheel is a reality that we expose ourselves to when the solar incidence is concentrated on the vehicle. To avoid this, the aforementioned TikTok trick ensures that, to avoid it, it is enough to turn the steering wheel half a turn to prevent sunlight from hitting the areas that you are going to touch later.
However, this trick can lead to different accidents and breakdowns. In addition, there are best ways to protect the steering wheel of your car from the sun. After all, while TikTok hacks can be effective on some occasions, they could backfire on others.
How to protect the steering wheel of your car during a heat wave
The TikTok trick ensures that you protect your flyer from the sun by leaving certain areas in the shade. However this is not entirely true. Most steering wheels are made of materials such as magnesium, aluminum or steel. Therefore, after prolonged exposure to sunlight, the material will heat more or less evenly. That is to say: it will be almost at the same temperature on its entire surface, even those that had supposedly been protected.
On the other hand, there is the issue of changes in solar incidence. As the day goes by, the star will change its position, so the areas exposed to its radiation will also change. So, the areas of the steering wheel that had been shielded from the sun at noon could be bathed in light and heat a couple of hours later.
If you don’t want to use a car sunshade, there is another way to keep your steering wheel protected from the sun. It is about using a cover, which is usually made of a reflective material and capable of dispersing the solar rays that hit it. Thus, the temperature of the steering wheel will be lower when you decide to resume the march.
The accidents and breakdowns that could occur with this TikTok trick
In addition to the above, the TikTok trick to protect your steering wheel from the sun It also has negative sections. Among them, the possible breakdowns and accidents that the use of this technique could cause.
Parking the car with the direction turned can be harmful in the long term. It could cause damage to the hydraulic circuit, as well as to the damping or tires. The reason is in the effort that all systems have to exert over a prolonged period of timewhich is totally unnecessary.
In another order, if a car hit ours, having the steering turned would cause it to stray into undesirable areas. Whether it is an unevenness, the road or a sidewalk. The cure could end up being worse than the disease.
In any case, driving during a heat wave is a terrible experience, so many are willing to try whatever it takes to keep their car cool. For these conditions, however, it is best to follow the advice offered by the DGT.