What to Do When your Car is Overheating

Even when you’re driving in cool weather and cold temperature, your engine can still heat up. Once it overheats, it can destroy your engine and damage your vehicle. In this regard, here are some tips for you to follow in case your car engine overheats.

1. Turn off your engine and open the hood.

The first thing you need to do when your engine is heating up is not to panic and stop at the nearest and safest location, especially if there is a white smoke blowing under the hood. Turn off the engine, open the hood of your car, and allow it to cool off.

If you’re unable to stop immediately, turn off your air conditioning and open your windows. Increase the heat and fan to draw the heat from the engine. Keep your hazard lights on and drive slowly until you can fully stop.

When you turn your engine off, leave the dashboard lights on. This will allow the cooling fan to run continuously even if your engine is off. The fan will help speed up the cooling process.

Before opening the hood, make sure that your hands are protected with gloves to avoid getting burned from the heat. If it is too hot, wait until the hood cools down.

2. Check the radiator.

Inspect the hose of your car’s radiator. Try squeezing the upper radiator hose and if it appears firm, it means the system is pressurized and it is not safe for you to remove the radiator cap.

On the other hand, if you can easily pinch the hose, you can proceed to remove the cap. Use our KevianClean Auto Detailing Towel to remove the cap safely.

Allow the radiator to cool down. Otherwise, it can shoot up a boiling fluid. Then check your coolant. Once the engine has cooled down, inspect the coolant reservoir attached to the radiator cap.

Refill the coolant. Pour equal parts of coolant and water mixture.

3. Check for leaks.

One of the most common reasons for an overheating engine is due to a leak in the coolant system. Inspect for leaks on the hoses, radiator cap or look for puddles under the vehicle.

4. Turn on the engine.

Once the engine is on, check the temperature gauge. If it is still pointing to red, turn off the engine and let it cool off for 15 minutes and start it up again.