3 Things You Can Try Before Calling a Towing Service When Your Car Overheats

Have you ever felt helpless when your car overheated while you were driving? Read on and discover some simple solutions that you can try before you call for a tow truck.

Top Up the Coolant

It is normally advisable to have spare supplies of engine coolant in your car. That supply will come in handy in case your engine overheats. This is because engines may overheat in case the level of coolant is lower than the required level. Having a spare supply close by may therefore save you from incurring the cost of having your vehicle towed to a car maintenance or repair facility. It is better to add this coolant through the overflow reservoir so that you protect yourself from being injured by the steam or hot water from the reservoir cover on the radiator. That coolant will then be sucked into the main reservoir through the hose connecting the two containers.

Let the AC Help You

The air conditioning system of your car may use a lot of energy to keep the interior of your car cool. That heavy energy use may cause the car engine to overheat. The first thing you should therefore do is to turn off the air conditioner. This will reduce the load on the engine and it may cool down to acceptable levels. You can also turn on the heater of your car. The heater uses the heat generated by the engine to warm up the interior of your car. Consequently, turning on the heater creates an avenue for the excess heat in the engine to be lost. Get out of the car in case the heater makes it too uncomfortable for you to remain inside. Getting out will allow you to turn up the heat to the highest level without exposing yourself to those hot conditions inside the car.

Switch Off the Engine

Never let the engine continue running when you notice that the temperature gauge is indicating that the engine has overheated. Leaving the engine to continue running can cause extensive damage within the engine components that have overheated. Turning off the engine allows the ambient air to cool it down gradually as you try the other suggestions mentioned above.

Restart the engine and observe the temperature gauge. Drive slowly as you keep watching for any changes in the temperature of the car engine. Call a towing company for help in case the temperature rises beyond the normal level after you have tried the suggestions above.


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