How to Prevent Your Vehicle from Overheating

When you find yourself in a situation where your vehicle is overheating, the proper steps and procedure might be unclear for some.  There are a lot of things you can do while you are out on the road to prevent your vehicle from overheating.

If you are driving or stuck in traffic and you notice your temperature gauge is rising or your temperature warning light has come on, it is recommended to turn off your air conditioning immediately and open your windows.  If you haven’t noticed a change in your temperature gauge, you can turn your climate control to the hottest setting, as this will help redirect some of the trapped heat in the cooling system.  If these prove ineffective, then it is best to pull over for assistance.

Being prepared also helps too.  Make sure you have fresh coolant in your radiator to start the summer and have it checked for corrosion.  On long trips, keep a spare gallon of coolant and distilled water in your trunk.  You could use tap water, but distilled water has less mineral deposits than tap.  If you absolutely have to continue driving, it is recommended that you pull over and stop the engine for at least 20 minutes to allow the engine to cool.  It is extremely important that you DO NOT open the radiator cap.  The coolant inside is under extreme pressure and is very hot which can badly burn you!

Prolonged overheating can warp the cylinder head and create a head gasket failure or even seize the motor completely.  If you notice that overheating has becoming a recurring problem with your vehicle, stop by our shop or make an appointment so we can diagnose the problem and get you back on the road.