The daunting summer season in the UAE can take a toll on all kinds of automobiles, gradually causing internal damage to their various components. If not regularly maintained, such vehicles can easily get overheated and catch fire. Therefore, it is important for car owners to keep an eye on the condition of their vehicles to prevent car fires during the summer season.
Recently, Dubai Police issued a warning through its social media, after a car caught fire on the Shaikh Zayed Road. Authorities in the UAE have repeatedly advised motorists to be careful and maintain their vehicles regularly during the summer season to avoid such dangerous incidents. A vehicle fire incident on a busy road can cause seriously dangerous situations and can result in multiple accidents. With car fires being such an important concern in the hot weather conditions of the UAE, it is essential for car owners to be aware of the common causes of these accidents.
Let’s take a look at how car owners can prevent their cars from catching fire in the extremely hot summer season of the UAE.
Common Causes of Vehicle Fire
High temperature in the summer season is one of the most common causes of vehicle fires in the UAE. Poorly maintained cars are prone to catching fire triggered by the summer heat. Given below are a few common causes of a vehicle fire.
Storage of Combustible Materials: One of the major causes of vehicle fires is the storage of flammable materials inside the cockpit of the car. A car that has not been parked in shade is vulnerable to a vehicle fire, especially if it has combustible materials like deodorant bottles, air-fresheners, hand sanitizers and aerosol cans stored in the cockpit.
Poor Maintenance: Regular maintenance of the car can help car owners prevent overheating of the vehicle, which is one of the leading causes of car fires. Motorists should visit a reliable mechanic regularly to have their vehicles inspected for any maintenance issues.
Collisions and Car Crashes: The impact of a collision can cause a car fire for several reasons. For instance, after an accident, the car may experience an electrical system malfunction, causing electricity to freely spark and ignite the stored fuel. Similarly, collision-damaged engines or overheated radiators can produce enough energy to set the stored petrol on fire.
Hard Braking: Hard braking can put immense pressure on the components in the braking system. The friction created between the various brake components can cause overheating and eventually lead to a fire.
Overheating Engines: Even though an overheated car engine will not be enough to cause a fire on its own, it can lead to several fire-triggering situations. For instance, an engine can heat up and cause the temperature of the car’s internal fluids (oil and coolants) to rise to dangerous levels. This would result in fluids spilling out of their designated areas and falling on to hot components, leading to a fire risk.
Low Level of Water in Radiators: Radiators circulate water to the essential parts of the vehicle to keep them cool. A low level of water in the radiator would result in overheating of the internal systems, which can then lead to a car fire.
Electrical System Failure: Automobiles typically have an extensive electrical wiring network running through various components. A simple frayed wire in an unnoticeable place can cause a dangerous incident by catching a fire.
Fuel System Leaks: Several complications within a car’s internal systems can cause a fuel leak, which can have dangerous consequences. Car fluids and fuel have highly flammable properties and can cause a fire accident with minor sparks at high temperatures.
Tips for Preventing a Car from Catching Fire
The summer season in the UAE cause serious problems for car owners with ill-maintained vehicles. Apart from the risk of vehicle fires, an unexpected occurrence of a car breakdown is another major challenge that the car owners will have to cope with if they ignore regular maintenance of their vehicles during the summer season.
The following are some important tips that can help make a vehicle less vulnerable to fire accidents during the summer season:
Get Your Vehicle Checked for Electrical Short Circuits
Electrical short circuits are a common occurrence in poorly maintained vehicles. Car owners should keep a look out for warning signs of internal system failure. For instance, if the car is repeatedly having battery problems, it would be better to get it checked by a trained mechanic. Electrical short circuits can easily result in sparks that can lead to full-blown fires if not controlled.
Check for Oil Leaks
It is important for car owners to get their vehicles regularly checked for any oil or fluid leaks. Leaked fuel can drizzle onto other heated parts of the vehicle, which can increase the risk of fire.
Keep the Essential Fluids at the Optimum Level
Car owners should check their vehicles regularly and maintain optimal levels of essential fluids such as the brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid and the engine coolant. These fluids play an important part in keeping the internal systems of the vehicle well-lubricated, subsequently preventing fires that could be caused due to friction of the car’s components.
Why Old Vehicles are More Susceptible to Catching Fire?
The risk of vehicle fire increases dramatically for car owners who do not follow regular maintenance protocols for their cars. Maintenance becomes an even more important concern with old and used cars, which typically have more internal and external depreciation. This, if left unchecked, can result in a major system failure. The situation is further intensified by the high temperature prevalent in the UAE’s summer season.
All these factors contribute to making older vehicles more susceptible to catching fire. Therefore, car owners are advised to either keep their used cars well-maintained or sell them at the right time to get the best value and to avoid fire-related accidents.
Why it is Important to Sell a Used Car at the Right Time?
Selling a used car at the right time can help both experienced and inexperienced car sellers in getting a good resale price for their vehicles. Car sellers should keep an eye on the maintenance cost and signs of aging in their vehicles. If the repair costs of a vehicle exceed its actual residual value, it would be better to sell the car than to maintain it. Selling a car at the right time can help avoid costly car repairs and can also make it easier to attract the attention of potential buyers.
How SellAnyCar.com Helps in Getting a Fair Resale Price for Your Old Car?
If the repair and maintenance cost of an old vehicle exceeds its residual value, it indicates the need for selling the car. Not selling the vehicle at the right time can result in a serious financial loss, which is why car sellers should look to sell such a car as soon as it starts to show the signs of aging.
Selling such a vehicle can also be a serious challenge due to the difficulty in finding a potential buyer. SellAnyCar.com is the largest car buying company in the UAE that offers car sellers a hassle-free platform for selling their old and aging vehicles at a fair price. It is a specialist car buying company that provides car sellers with the opportunity to sell their vehicles quickly and conveniently.
The company ensures guaranteed purchase of every vehicle that undergoes inspection by its experts, regardless of the car’s age, make, model or condition. With SellAnyCar.com, a used vehicle can be sold within just 30 minutes and the post-sale paperwork is handled by the company. This is arguably the simplest and safest way to sell an old vehicle in the UAE at a fair price.
If you are looking to sell your used car to buy a new one with advanced safety features and improved performance, then don’t forget that with us, you can sell any used car in just 30 minutes while all the post-sale paperwork is handled by SellAnyCar.com’s team.
