Can I leave My Laptop In A Hot Car? [All You Need To Know]

Are you an Enterpenurer, Vlogger, Blogger, or self-employed who always needs to carry a laptop along with you to do the work? If yes, then you have to take your laptop in your car while traveling from one place to another.

During travel, sometimes you may need to leave your laptop in your car to go somewhere. While leaving your laptop in a hot car you might think “can I leave my laptop in a hot car?”.

If you are thinking about this question then you are not alone, there are many laptop users who think the same. Some people think if they leave their laptop in a hot car their laptop will be damaged.

Is it right? Will leaving a laptop in the hot car actually damage your laptop? In this article, we will discuss whether can you leave your laptop in a hot car.

Will it damage your laptop? And there are many other questions that we will discuss in this article that may come into your mind while leaving your laptop in a hot car.

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After reading this article, you will get a clear answer to your question, and you can easily decide whether you should leave your laptop in a hot car or not.

Can You Leave Your Laptop In A Hot Car?

Before telling you the answer to this question let us first tell you what is exactly the hot car. A hot car is a car that is parked directly under the sunlight without no shade.

The heat of the sun affects the car directly which can quickly increase the temperature of the car and it is not necessary to be that hot outside for this to happen. 

You know very well heat is the biggest enemy of electronic gadgets like laptops, mobiles, tablets, etc. In order to keep your laptops safe from any damage, you have to keep them away from any heat.

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On a sunny day, if the temperature outside the car is 30 degrees and you park your car in direct sunlight without any shade the inside temperature of the car can reach up to 43 degrees which is very hot and not good for any electronic device.

And even if the temperature outside is a little bit higher than the inside car temperature can reach up to 52 degrees.

So, if you are thinking about leaving your laptop in a hot car then think twice before leaving it, because the hot temperature inside the car can damage your laptop badly and even it can melt the plastic of the laptop body.

Although there are some ways of keeping your laptop safe in a hot car which we will discuss shortly in this article.

How Does Heat Damage Your Laptop?

Now, you are thinking about how heat can damage your laptop if you leave it in a hot car. Am I right? Well, heat can damage your laptop from different perspectives.

As you know the laptop is a machine but you might think about how heat can damage the machine. Although, a laptop is a machine it needs a normal temperature in order to survive. 

If you give it extra heat the inner components of the laptop can start to break down and as a result, the laptop will be unable to work. 

Even the body of the laptop can melt if you leave it at a hot temperature for a long time.

There are many symptoms of damaging the laptop from heat which can be:

The symptoms of the heat-damaged laptop can vary depending on the parts of the laptop that are damaged but in most cases, people see these few problems when their laptop is damaged from heat.

  • Vertical or horizontal lines may appear on the screen of laptop.
  • Your laptop won’t charge.
  • The laptop may produce some kinds of noise.
  • The keyboard of the laptop may stop working.
  • The laptop randomly shut down or restarts or keeps freezing.
  • The screen of the laptop may start flickering or goes blank.
  • Your laptop gets hot with use of only a few minutes.

And there are many other symptoms of a heat-damaged laptop that you can face. If you face these kinds of symptoms on your laptop you have to check your laptop with a professional immediately in order to prevent it from any damage. 

Now, the question is how to protect a laptop in a car from heat. Let’s discuss it.

How To Protect Your Laptop From Heat Damage?

There are several ways of protecting your laptop from the heat that is inside the car. It’s understood thing that you need to leave your laptop in a hot car sometimes but you can save it from the heat that is inside the car.

These are the few ways of protecting your laptop from the heat:

1: Park Your Car In The Shade:

The first and most easy way that you can use to protect your laptop from the inside heat of the car is to park your car in a shade where no direct sunlight affects the car.

If you park the car in the shade your car’s inside temperature will stay normal, because the shade and the normal temperature will be safe completely for your laptop.

Also, parking your car in shade instead of direct sunlight can also protect your car paint from damage.

But at some points, if there is no shade available then what you can do? Let’s move on to the next way.

2: Covered your Car With Tarpaulin:

The next way that you can use save your laptop from heat is to cover your whole car with a tarpaulin. This is the best way to keep both your laptop and car from the heat.

Tarpaulin will help keep the inside temperature cool and also it will protect the body and color of your car from direct sunlight which may damage the color.

When you cover your laptop with a tarpaulin it will keep the inside temperature normal and will protect your laptop from heat damage.

You can use this when you have to park your car in direct sunlight for many hours, if you have to park your car for only minutes then you can leave your car in direct sunlight for 5 to 10 minutes there is no problem.

But if you have to park it for many hours then it is necessary to use a tarpaulin on your car to keep the temperature normal and save your laptop from heat.

3: Leave The Windows Open:

If you don’t have tarpaulin available then you can use this method to keep the temperature normal and protect your laptop from heat.

In order to keep the temperature normal, you have to open the windows of the car so that air can circulate inside the car and can keep the temperature normal.

Although his method might be risky you have to choose a place that is safe otherwise your laptop may be stolen.

4: Use Laptop Case:

The next way that you can use to keep your laptop safe in a hot car is to use the laptop case. You have to buy a laptop case and keep your laptop inside when you park your laptop in a hot car.

By far this is the best and easy method to protect your laptop from heat and from being stolen. If you put your laptop in the case then you don’t need to leave the windows open for air circulation.

You can lock the car and leave your laptop in it, as your laptop will be in the case so heat will not reach inside the case and your laptop will be safe from heat damage.

If you can’t buy the laptop case you can use a soft towel, or small blanket and wrap your laptop in it to protect it from heat.

5: Use A Sunshade:

The next way you can use to protect your laptop from heat damage inside the car is to use sunshades for your car windshield. It will keep your car temperature normal.

Buying a sunshade is very cheap and it can stop the heat from going inside the car as a result your laptop will be safe in the car.

6: Turn On The Air Conditioner:

Another way to protect your laptop from hot temperature is to turn on the air conditioner of your car when you leave your car in direct sunlight.

The air conditioner will help to keep the temperature normal and at normal temperature, your laptop will be safe from heat damage.

7: Turn Off Your Laptop:

This is always recommended that turn off your laptop completely before you leave your laptop in a hot car and also remove the battery if possible.

This is because if you leave your laptop in a hot car while turning on the laptop the heat inside the laptop that comes from the direct sunlight and the heat of the laptop that is produced from running the laptop can damage internal parts of your laptop badly.

That’s why turning off your laptop before leaving it in a hot car is necessary.

Things To Keep In Mind While Leaving Laptop In A Hot Car:

If you’re leaving your laptop in a hot car, there are a few things you should keep in mind. 

  • First, the hotter it is outside, the more quickly your laptop will heat up.
  • Second, direct sunlight will also make your laptop heat up more quickly.
  • Third, if you’re going to be gone for more than an hour or so, it’s best to leave your laptop in a cool, shady spot. 
  • Fourth, if possible, try to keep your laptop in a case or bag while it’s in the car. It will protect your laptop from the heat and keep it cool. 
  • Fifth, avoid leaving your laptop on the dashboard or in any other spot where it could get direct sunlight.

Final Thoughts On Can You Leave Your Laptop In A Hot Car:

After reading this detailed article, we hope that you have got the answer to your question which is “can I leave my laptop in a hot car”.

It’s not recommended at any cost, you should never leave your laptop in a hot car as it may damage your laptop badly.

But in some cases when there is no option other than leaving your laptop in a hot car then you should use the ways to protect your laptop from heat damage that we have discussed above.

The best way to protect your laptop from heat damage is to use a laptop case. When you put your laptop in the case the heat will not go inside the case and your laptop will be safe from it.

Although you can use other ways of protecting your laptop in a hot car as well, using the laptop case is the best option. Rest decision is yours.

Frequently Asked Questions:

There are questions that people ask before leaving their laptops in a hot car. Let’s discuss all of them.

How long can you leave a laptop in a hot car?

There is no exact answer to this question. It depends on the temperature of the place where you are parking your car. It’s recommended to leave the laptop in a hot car for as short a time as you can.

It’s not recommended to leave the laptop in a hot car for more the 10 to 15 minutes. But for these 10 to 15 minutes you have to shut down your laptop completely and remove the battery of the laptop if possible.

Is it bad to leave a laptop in a hot car?

Yes, leaving your laptop in a hot car is very dangerous as it may damage the internal parts of your laptop and stop it from working properly. 

Also, a hot temperature inside the car can melt the body of your laptop if your laptop is built with plastic.

Can you leave your laptop in a hot car for an hour?

It’s not recommended to leave your laptop for an hour in a hot car. If the temperature inside the car is high some parts of your laptop may damage badly like the hard drive or solid-state drive(SSD). 

These two components do not like the temperature so much, so it’s not recommended to leave your laptop in a hot car for an hour.

Can a hot car destroy a laptop?

If you leave your laptop in a hot car for a long time then yes it can damage your laptop permanently. 

You know very well laptops are so expensive so you should take care of them by not leaving them in a hot car.

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