What To Do If Your Car Overheats.
When you are driving around in your car, one of the most common yet easily avoided problems can be overheating of the vehicle. Should this happen to you it can be a source of worry, frustration and confusion.
Thankfully, dealing with an overheated car isn't quite as challenging as it might sound: when managed in the right way, in fact, it can be pretty easy to administer. Let's take a look at what that might entail.
If you are worried about overheating, or it has happened before and you had no solution, you should try and implement the following:
• Look for Steam. Steam is the obvious sign - no smoke without fire, and no heat without steam. If you see steam pouring out, then you have an engine that cannot handle itself. Steam is not something that you should just ignore - and it certainly isn't something that you should expect to see.
• Lower The Temperature. Next, be sure to turn off the A/C unit and then turn on your heating unit. That might sound counterproductive, but turning up the heating to full directs heat from the engine to elsewhere. Just make sure you avoid this on a sunny day - you might melt! Being serious for a moment, though, your vehicle's health and safety is far more important than feeling a touch too warm for a few moments.
• Shut Off The Engine. A no-brainer, but getting the engine off nice and fast is pretty important, too. You should look to do this as it stops your car from heating up more and gives the engine a nice little breather in the first place. If you are not comfortable with the next step, then get out your phone and get some roadside assistance to help.
• Get It Cooled. Pop up the hood of your car, and you should immediately feel a waft of heat hitting you. Also, only open up the hood if you feel like you can either handle the heat or that it does not feel too dangerous. This is very important, as going in too early can be just as dangerous as doing nothing at all.
• Look For Coolants. Now, your vehicle should have a coolant section near the radiator. Typically, this will be made of plastic and is going to be SUPER HOT so don't just grab onto it or you'll need a trip to the hospital, stat. Check the coolant gauge, too, and see where it sits - is it normal? Or has it risen to a level that has your eyebrows raised? If it's low or empty, then you might have a problem. This is the part where most people make the problem worse, so if you are not confident call in an expert to help.
Really, the best bet to avoid any kind of disaster is to hire some kind of roadside assistance. There's no point taking risks if you are unsure, so be safe!
