What to Do When Your Car Overheats

You’re driving down the street, happily obeying the laws and enjoying the ride when suddenly you notice clouds of what appears to be smoke, emerging out from under your hood. You may also notice some hesitation from your engine or lag time when you push your foot down on the gas pedal. Checking your dashboard panel, you will most likely see the engine light on or the temperature gauge in the red zone.

First things first: Don’t panic.

Those white billowy clouds are not smoke, but steam rising off your engine because your car has probably overheated. Engine overheating happens for a variety of reasons Autel Maxisys MS908CV, but the most common is when your vehicle doesn’t have enough engine coolant to prevent the engine from getting too hot. This happens when we’re driving in heavy stop-and-go traffic, when we forget to check vehicle fluids, or both.

When you find yourself in this precarious situation follow these steps to get back on your way:

1. If the air conditioning is on, turn it off and roll down the windows. You can also try turning the car heater on at full speed, which will dissipate some of the heat off the engine and may help prevent complete overheating.

2. Without delay pull the car out of traffic and on to the side of the road or into a parking lot.

3. You need to turn off your car and pop the hood release. If the hood feels very hot to the touch or if you see steam coming from under the hood, wait until the hood cools and then open it all the way.

4. DO NOT open the radiator cap or touch the engine until the engine has cooled completely. This may take as long as 45 minutes to an hour. The radiator is under pressure, so it could cause you serious harm if you open the cap while it’s hot.

5. When the engine has cooled down completely and you can touch it comfortably, check the coolant reservoir tank it looks like a plastic milk jug with a hose going to the radiator. Carefully open the radiator cap, paying particular attention to the radiator and coolant level. If it doesn’t have any coolant, you’ll have to add coolant, water or both if you have them, directly into the radiator. Be certain to fill the radiator to the top and if you have both coolant and water, use a 50/50 mix.

6. Replace the radiator cap and check all hoses, making certain they haven’t sprung a leak or busted.

7. Restart the car and check the temperature gauges on the dash. If the needle starts moving into the red zone, shut off the engine immediately, wait a few minutes and try again.

Remember that it is possible to continue driving while your car is hot, this is most important if you’re alone on a dark road or in unknown surroundings. In this case, start up the engine and continue driving until the gauge reaches the hot zone, then stop, turn off the engine, let it cool down considerably and continue again, repeating the stop-and-start process until you reach a safe destination. Please do not attempt to drive in this manner over long distances; only use this method until you find a well lit and safe area to examine things further Autel MaxiTPMS PAD. Or better yet, until you find a reliable repair shop.

It is important to understand that engine overheating can be caused by a variety of problems; a blocked radiator, a fan that stops working, a bad water pump or a stuck thermostat, so if the coolant level is at normal levels and you are overheating see Mr. Transmission right away!

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