Engine Overheat: No Need To Panic

Kevin Anderson
June 28, 2006

When a car’s engine overheats, most new drivers who have yet to experience their own share of overheating engines would be on the tip of their toes with their hearts pumping faster than usual. Panic is one thing that they do which is not the recommended reaction when encountering such a situation with your vehicle.

Your car’s engine usually overheats when there is a low coolant level in the coolant reservoir. If you do remember your basics, the coolant absorbs the heat from your engine so that it does not accumulate heat. So if there is no coolant or there is a low level of coolant, do expect such a situation to arise. Your coolant does not get used up so if there is a low coolant level, then there may be a leak somewhere.

When you do experience an overheating engine, the first thing you should do is turn off your car’s engine. This would facilitate in lessening any damages that could have been brought about by the situation. Also, make sure that you turn on your signal lights and flashers so that people and other motorists would know that you are experiencing a vehicle problem.

Then, you should turn the heater and the heater blow to high. This would make sure that heat is turned away from your engine. You should also open the hood of your vehicle and start checking the coolant level. Remember that you should not open the radiator cap if the engine is still hot. You can wait until it cools down.

Start adding coolant to the coolant reservoir. You can use a funnel for this task. Make sure that you add coolant up until the line which states that it is the right amount for your car. You can run to your trusted mechanic for repairs of your coolant reservoir once you are back on the road.

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