You never want your car’s engine to overheat at all. Sometimes there’s nothing that you can do, other than respond quickly to the problem and let the engine cool down. But what’s causing the car to overheat? Here’s some information from Miller Auto Care that can help.
Broken Thermostat
Your car’s cooling system relies on a very simple thermostat to help it keep your car’s engine at the right temperature. This thermostat is either on or off, depending on how hot the engine is at any given point. If the thermostat fails, the cooling system doesn’t have any other way to keep track of the car’s temperature and it’s highly likely the car will overheat. Aside from adding coolant, this is the easiest fix for overheating issues.
Cooling System Failure
There are a lot of other points of failure within the cooling system, including the water pump, the radiator, and a variety of different hoses and hose clamps. If any of those different parts aren’t able to do their job, the cooling system can’t send coolant through the engine and get it cooled down. Sometimes the problem is a simple one to fix, like replacing a hose. But that’s not always the case.
Coolant Issues
Coolant is the fluid that circulates through the cooling system and draws heat from the car’s engine. If there isn’t enough coolant, it can’t release enough heat to recirculate and cool down the engine. That’s why it’s a good idea to check the coolant reservoir periodically and make sure that the coolant is topped up if it needs to be.
Skipped Services
All of those services recommended in your car’s owner’s manual are important for one reason or another. Most of them have some sort of impact on engine performance, so skipping them or delaying them for too long can have an adverse effect on how the engine runs. When that happens, the engine might consistently run too hot and you’ll find it overheating more than it should. If your engine is overheating often, that’s a big problem and can lead to increasing damage to the engine.
Don’t keep driving your car if it’s overheating. Call Miller Auto Care in Medford, OR today and let us help you to troubleshoot the issue. Once you know why your car’s engine is overheating you can take steps to correct the problem and to protect the engine going forward.