The wildfires raging across southern Canada have blanketed large portions of the United States in a thick haze smoke. The wildfires have created hazardous air quality conditions for people and animals, but many people wonder whether the heavy smoke can damage vehicles. The bad news is that wildfire smoke can damage your truck, but most of that damage can be mitigated with proper care and maintenance.
You Truck Engine Needs to Breathe, Too
If you have spent much time outside while the wildfire smoke was hovering over your area, you likely know that the haze makes it harder to breathe. You truck engine needs to breathe as well, so in the same way that the smoke clogs up your sinuses, the particulates in the wildfire smoke can clog up your engine air filter. Realistically, if you have a new truck with a new air filter, the wildfire smoke isn’t going to cause any issues, but if you have an older truck – or you haven’t replaced your air filter in a few years – the extra layer of particulates in the filtering material can obstruct the engine air path.
The good news is that this issue is addressed with a new air filter, or by cleaning a serviceable air filter.
Cabin Air Filter Works Extra Hard
If you drive a newer truck or SUV, it likely has a cabin air filter system. If you have been driving around in the wildfire smoke with the windows up and the air condition blasting, but your cabin is fresh and clear, you have a cabin air filter system. That filter is catching the particulates from the wildfire smoke, keeping that junk out of your interior, but the smoke will require you to replace your cabin air filter sooner than usual.
Really, the cabin air filter is often neglected during rounds of regular maintenance, so if you live in an area that got hit with wildfire smoke, it might be a good idea to replace your cabin air filter when you next have your oil changed.
The Smoke Can Dull Your Truck’s Shine
The smoke at my house was so thick that when you inhaled through your mouth, it was gritty in your teeth – that is how heavy the particulates were in Metro Detroit. The first morning, the grass way grey due to the smoke particulates being caught in the dew overnight, and that same gray slime was on my truck that was parked outside. As the sun came up, it dried into a gritty dust and had I just wiped it away, it would absolutely leave fine scratches in the paint. At the same time, if I had left it on the paint, the chemicals trapped in that paint can have corrosive qualities that can damage the paint surface.
To avoid this, if your truck has been in heavy wildfire smoke, you want to heavily flood the body with water to rinse away as much of the grit as possible. A pressure washer does a great job of this. Also, using a good quality car soap will remove the chemical residue that is left behind.
Smoke Becomes Interior Dust
Even if your truck has a cabin air filter system, if you spent days driving around in heavy wildfire smoke, some of the same particulates that are on the body and in the air filters end up in the interior. That material settles into the upholstery and across the hard surfaces, leading to a dusty, dingy cabin. This can be prevented to some extent in vehicles with cabin air filters by keeping the windows up, but the finest particulates will make it into the cabin. Stopping by the local car wash and giving your truck a thorough vacuuming will erase the wildfire smoke from your cabin.
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