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Stop Making These Dangerous Car Air Conditioning Mistakes, SEAT Says

New research by carmaker SEAT highlights the mistakes drivers make that reduce the effectiveness of the air conditioning system, virtually putting them at risk.
Several mistakes diminish the effectiveness of the car AC, putting you at risk 4 photos
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SEAT Tarraco Looks Surprisingly Stable During Nurburgring TestingSEAT Tarraco Looks Surprisingly Stable During Nurburgring TestingSEAT Tarraco Looks Surprisingly Stable During Nurburgring Testing
A cabin temperature of 35 degrees Celsius can translate into reaction speeds reduced by up to 20 percent, as compared to a cooler cabin. In turn, this is the equivalent of a blood alcohol reading of 0.05 percent, slightly under the legal limit in most countries.

In short, you’re not yourself when you’re hot. What’s worse, you could be making a series of mistakes that make your AC not work properly in the car, research by SEAT, cited by Express, shows.

These mistakes include cranking up the AC to the max right after you get inside a car that’s been sitting in the sun for hours, turning the nozzles towards yourself or the other passengers, and not doing proper and regular maintenance to the AC system.

Ideally, you should open all the doors to the car and lower the windows before even thinking of turning on the AC. This way, you allow the temperature to drop a few degrees gradually before you start to recirculate the air. Turn on the AC afterwards, and you will notice an immediate improvement.

Use the AC on cool mornings as well, and make sure you get the system checked and cleaned every 10,000-15,000 miles, the company further says.

“If rear passengers say they can’t feel the cool air, then the nozzles could be set incorrectly. It isn’t a matter of temperature, but in which direction the air is flowing inside the car,” Ángel Suárez, an engineer at the SEAT Technical Center, explains.

“The nozzles should be pointing upwards, not towards peoples’ faces. Then the air flows all around the interior of the car and reaches every passenger consistently,” he adds.

So bear all this in mind the next time you step into a hot car. The AC only does its job if you use it appropriately.
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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