Don’t take chances with an overheating car. Yes, turning up the heater will redirect the engine heat away from it and cool the internal temperature some, but it’s important to understand that this is only a temporary solution. When you understand the causes of constant overheating you can see how important it is to get the issue resolved ASAP. Getz Automotive lists eight of the things that will make your car overheat below.
8 Things That Will Make Your Car Overheat
1. Coolant
Your engine coolant could actually be causing your vehicle to overheat rather than preventing it. If the coolant levels are too low, the coolant is old and dirty, you don’t have any coolant in the engine, or you have the wrong coolant type in there, your vehicle will overheat constantly.
2. Leaks
One thing that will make the coolant levels too low is a cooling system leak. Coolant can leak from the radiator hoses, the heater core, a rusted radiator, and the water pump. You might see coolant on your garage floor. It’s usually a bright color, such as red, and smells sweet and musty.
3. Radiator
We just mentioned a rusted radiator and over time, your radiator might rust and start to leak. If you drive a classic car, your radiator may be rusted through and this is why it overheats. The radiator fan can also malfunction and overheat your car, as will a clogged radiator vent.
4. Hoses
Coolant hoses can leak, rupture, and be clogged by sediment. This blocks the flow of coolant through the engine and overheats it. The belt that controls the radiator fan might be the reason why the fan is malfunctioning. It can wear down and get too loose over time.
5. Thermostat
The engine thermostat is in charge of releasing the coolant into the water pump once the engine’s temperature needs to be cooled down. An engine thermostat’s life expectancy is about 10 years, so if yours is older, it might not be releasing the coolant.
6. Water Pump
Even if the thermostat isn’t the problem, the coolant could be leaking out of the water pump once the thermostat releases it, or the water pump itself could be malfunctioning. If the water pump is not working, your engine isn’t getting coolant pumped through it.
7. Heater Core
The heater core isn’t part of your engine’s cooling system but it uses the hot coolant that flows through it to heat your car’s cabin. Coolant can leak out of the hoses that make up the heater core’s core. This coolant loss will overheat your engine.
8. Motor Oil
Finally, motor oil acts as coolant for your engine’s moving parts. Fresh oil lubricates the parts to reduce the heat they generate and draws excess heat away from them. Dirty motor oil cannot do this. In fact, it will deposit gunk that heats up the engine and damages engine parts.
Don’t Let Your Car Overheat
Let Getz Automotive get to the bottom of your vehicle’s overheating problem. Our full-service auto shop in Fuquay-Varina, NC, is staffed with experienced and qualified technicians ready to help.
