How to Prevent Car Overheating (+ What to Do if It Happens)

Is the temperature gauge on your dash dialing close to red?
Maybe steam or smoke is escaping your hood.
Sometimes, you’ll also notice a burning or sweet odor from the engine.

These are all signs of an overheating engine — not something to take lightly.

But don’t worry, it can be fixed.
We’ll help you figure out how to prevent your car from overheating and what to do if it does. We’ll also cover a couple of other related topics.

Let’s go.

This Article Contains

How to Prevent Your Car From Overheating: 12 Essential Tips
What SHOULD You Do If Your Car Starts to Overheat?
What SHOULDN’T You Do If Your Car Overheats?
What Typically Causes Your Car to Overheat?

How to Prevent Your Car From Overheating: 12 Essential Tips

Your car can overheat for many reasons. So, preventing this from happening means taking care of several things:

1. Check the Coolant Level

Engine coolant draws away engine heat, so the engine temperature will rise if there isn’t enough. Always ensure your coolant levels are in range, especially if heading on a long drive.

Check for a coolant leak under your chassis. Coolant fluid is often brightly colored, like green or blue, making separating it from an oil leak easy. It’s also a good idea to keep extra coolant on hand, just in case.

2. Keep Up with Oil Change Schedules

Engine oil changes are the most common preventative car maintenance. Motor oil doesn’t just keep your car engine lubricated; it also draws away some heat like coolant does. If you don’t stick to your oil change schedule, you’ll have dirty engine oil that won’t flow well through your engine or help keep it cool.

3. Keep an Eye on the Temperature Gauge

Pay attention to the gauges and warning lights on your dashboard. If the engine temperature marker is higher than usual, don’t wait for it to hit the “red zone” and let your car overheat. Find a place to pull over to let the engine cool down.

4. Keep Your Car Shaded

Shade is underrated. Parking your car in a shaded spot can immensely help prevent overheating. Tinting your car windows or using window shades will not only help keep your cabin cool but also the overall car. The same goes for rolling down your windows on hot days to let out the hot air.

5. Tweak Your A/C Settings

If you’re getting into a hot car, lower the windows a little and switch your a/c (air conditioning) to the floor vents so excess heat can escape faster. Then, you can use the upper vents.

On long drives in hot weather, turning off the a/c will reduce engine load. Roll down the windows and enjoy the outside air for a bit.

6. Inspect the Radiator Cap

The radiator cap maintains the pressure in your radiator and must be tightened properly to work. It can be easily overlooked, so ensure your radiator cap isn’t loose.

The radiator cap has a spring that wears out over time. If it’s old or faulty, replace it to ensure your vehicle’s cooling system functions correctly.

7. Get a Radiator Flush

Engine coolant becomes contaminated over time, reducing its heat-drawing capabilities. Get a cooling system service to drain the old coolant and replace it with fresh liquid. A radiator flush should be part of your regular vehicle maintenance.

8. Check the Thermostat

The thermostat regulates coolant flow and temperature through the engine, keeping your engine at operating temperatures. If the engine is cold, it stays closed. When the engine heats up, it opens gradually, letting coolant flow to the radiator.

If your engine temperature keeps shooting high, the thermostat could be the problem and should be replaced.

9. Check the Drive Belt for Wear

The drive belt (serpentine or fan belt) powers the water pump, which circulates coolant throughout the car. A worn drive belt might not deliver enough power to the water pump, meaning less coolant is moving, leading to engine overheating.

10. Clean the A/C Condenser

The air conditioner condenser usually sits in front of the radiator. It can collect dirt and debris, causing it to clog — blocking air to the radiator. Cleaning it will help clear air passages to the radiator.

11. Consider Changing the Car Battery

Your car battery weakens over time. If you have an older battery (over 3 years), your engine may have to work harder, leading to overheating.

12. Check for Stuck Calipers

Stuck calipers can create enough drag on your car’s engine that it overheats because it’ll be as if you’re driving with your brakes engaged. If this happens, get a brake service.

While prevention is better than cure, car overheating can still happen.
Let’s talk about how to handle this.

What SHOULD You Do If Your Car Starts to Overheat?

If you have an overheating engine, it’s very important to act fast to contain the problem.
Stopping the car is the best remedy, but conditions don’t always allow it.

1. If You Can’t Yet Stop

You could be in heavy traffic and having trouble finding a place to pull over.

In this situation:

Switch off the air conditioning to reduce engine load.

Crank the heater and fan up to full blast. While this might sound counterintuitive, it’ll help draw excess heat from the car engine. Roll down the windows to keep the cabin environment manageable.

2. If You’re Stuck Idling but Still Can’t Stop

You could be stuck idling at a traffic light, but you can’t turn off your car, and your engine temperature spikes. One thing you can do is rev the engine to about 1500 RPM. This gets air and water moving through your radiator.

3. If You Can Stop the Car

Find a safe spot on the side of the road and pull over. Then:

Turn off the engine, but don’t open the hood yet.

Open the hood after the engine is cool (wait at least 15 minutes). If water is available, pour it over the radiator to help it cool further. Don’t do this while it’s hot, as it can cause the engine block to crack.

Check the coolant tank and top a low coolant level with antifreeze or water. While you open the coolant reservoir, check if the coolant is bubbling, as that could mean a blown head gasket or faulty radiator cap.

Check for a coolant leak. It could be something like a small coolant tank crack that you can temporarily remedy (with tape, epoxy, or something similar), enough to get you to an automotive service.

Turn the ignition key to the first position to check the temperature without cranking the car’s engine.

If the engine temperature is OK, start the car and get to an auto repair shop.

If the car won’t start or there are odd sounds, stay put and call for roadside assistance.

There are also some things that you shouldn’t do in an engine overheat.
Let’s go over those.

What SHOULDN’T You Do If Your Car Overheats?

If your car overheats, here are some things to avoid:

1. Don’t Panic

Stay as calm as possible so you can think clearly. Panicking can lead to misjudgments and mishaps.

2. Don’t Continue Driving

Even if your destination feels reachable, it’s better to stop and let the car cool down. Pushing on with an overheated engine can cause severe and costly damage to your vehicle.

3. Don’t Immediately Pop Open the Hood

It might seem logical to open the hood once you’ve stopped to let out all the hot air from the engine compartment and check the coolant reservoir. However, this could expose you to burns or injury from hot smoke or steam.

Along the same thread, don’t open the radiator cap with an overheated engine, as the hot pressurized water inside can burst and scald you.

4. Don’t Ignore the Problem

It might be tempting to think of the car overheating as a one-off occurrence once you get your engine temperature down to normal. However, if you don’t fix the root cause, the issue will repeat itself and might worsen. It’s best to get a car repair professional to diagnose overheating problems.

Now, let’s look at why car overheat happens.

What Typically Causes Your Car to Overheat?

Cooling system problems often stem from these common culprits:

Stuck thermostat: A thermostat that is stuck closed will not let coolant pass through to the radiator, and hot coolant will keep circulating the engine.

Leaking or burst radiator hose: Coolant levels will drop, and the engine temperature will rise — rapidly in the case of a burst hose, usually triggering a dashboard warning light.

Damaged water pump: When the water pump fails, coolant isn’t pumped around the engine, causing it to overheat rapidly.

Failing radiator fan: A weak or stationary radiator cooling fan won’t provide enough airflow to cool the coolant passing through the radiator.

Keep a Cool Engine for Trouble-Free Driving

Engine overheating is a severe problem that you should remedy as soon as possible. If you experience an engine overheat, it’s crucial to act quickly to minimize further engine damage. Follow our tips to try to prevent overheating from happening again.

However, if simple actions like topping up your coolant or changing your radiator cap don’t resolve the problem, it’s time for expert car maintenance advice.

Why not let AutoNation Mobile Service help you out?

We’re a mobile auto repair and maintenance solution available 7 days a week, and we’ll send our best mechanics to fix your overheating problem right from your driveway.