# CDs in hot cars in the summer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2002, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069 "2002-05-27T17:56:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mojo\_the\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Mojo\_the\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_the_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/1 "2002-05-27T17:56:33Z")
What is the consensus on leaving CDs inside a car in the summer? Are they likely to be damaged by the heat of a car broiling in a hot parking lot? ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/2 "2002-05-27T19:23:28Z")
If you leave them out of the case you might burn your fingers when you pick them up, but I have never heard of them melting. Just to be safe I would try and keep them out of direct sunlight if I were you. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/3 "2002-05-27T19:34:12Z")
Regular CDs are semi-fragile. Definitely keep them out of the sun and really hot cars. But more like long term effects. CDRs are fragile. A regular hot car will cause eventual damage. (I note that [Robert X. Cringely](http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020523.html), 7th par., feels that cars in the sun in cars Is Not A Good Idea.) See [http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html#S7-5](http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html#S7-5) for info on CDR lifetimes. So: Use your original CD in your car and risk eventual damage, or copy it and consider the CDR semi-sacrificial. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/4 "2002-05-27T20:23:21Z")
I’ve never had an actual CD melt on me but I’ve had CD Cases melt (with CDs in them.) It’s still a pain in the ass. Crack your windows. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/5 "2002-05-27T22:18:21Z")
I’ve had cd-r’s become unreadable if the write surface was exposed to direct sunlight for many days. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/6 "2002-05-27T22:22:20Z")
I had a CD-R case melt just today! And I’ve only had a CD-R get damaged (kinda burned around the edge), and I almost ALWAYS have CDs lying around in my car. But I imagine its still not a very good thing, so at the least, keep the CDs in their case, and maybe in a box on the ground or something, away from the sunlight (not that I do this, but I’m thinking about it after today!) ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/7 "2002-05-28T12:36:57Z")
Well, UV light does damage polycarbonate, which is what CD’s are made out of. So keeping them out of direct sunlight is a good plan. ---
**Author:** ![jonfromdenver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@jonfromdenver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonfromdenver)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cds-in-hot-cars-in-the-summer/111069/8 "2002-05-28T14:55:26Z")
On a side note, hot CDRs don’t play well in older CD players. A constant problem I have is getting into a hot car and popping a hot cd right into the player, and it doesn’t work. It will work in a few minutes when it cools down, but I want my music now, dammit! Heat reduces the lifespan of CDs, and CDRs in particular. What is “burned” on a CDR is a layer of dye, and this layer can get slightly burned in excessive heat, I imagine.