Eliminating Driver Pain Points: When Your Engine Overheats
It’s hot in the Summer and that heat isn’t limited to just how you feel when you’re outside. With outside temperatures rising, your engine bay is getting hotter than it’s been for a long time. When your engine overheats, you feel like you can’t do much about it and wonder if your car has stopped running for good. Let’s take a look at some preventative measures you can take to keep your engine from overheating this summer.
Check the Coolant Level Regularly
When you bring your vehicle to our Jiffy Lube® service center for your next service appointment, ask our team to check the coolant level in your engine. We do this anyway but asking will let us know this is on your mind. Proper coolant levels can help you avoid overheating this summer.
Use the Temperature Gauge
There’s a reason the temperature gauge is still present on your instrument panel, it’s there to warn you when your engine is getting too hot. Don’t let the needle get into the red zone before you take action, pull in and let our team at Jiffy Lube® take a look at your engine if this gauge heads up toward the red zone.
Reduce the Load on Your Engine
If you’re running the air conditioner, you need to turn it off if you feel that your engine is about to overheat. This will reduce the load on your engine and will help the temperature gauge head back down to the level you want. You can also turn on the heater and open the windows to pull some of that engine heat to the cabin and cool the engine down more quickly.
Pull Over and Take a Break
When your temperature gauge is in the red or when you see steam coming from under the hood, you need to pull over right away and let your engine cool down. Open the hood to let the heat escape and wait until the engine has cooled down before you look at the fluids. You can pour some water over the radiator to help the engine cool down even more.
Have Your Cooling System Checked
Before you experience overheating in your engine this summer, ask our team at Jiffy Lube® to check the cooling system of your vehicle. If you get ready for a drive and notice leaks from this system on your driveway, the first place you should go is one of our service locations. We will inspect your system to make sure it’s running right for you.
Get Your Cooling System Flushed Periodically
One service that many people seem to forget to have done is a flush of the cooling system. To keep your coolant working for you, it needs to be replaced before it wears out. Our team at Jiffy Lube® will be happy to flush your system and make sure your engine will stay cool enough to keep from overheating and giving you trouble this summer.
