Glendale Nissan Official Blog
How to stop your vehicle from overheating
By Product Expert | Posted in Tips & Tricks on Wednesday, August 10th, 2016 at 8:51 pm
How to quickly handle an overheating car engine
Hopefully you’re not reading this blog while you’re caught in the middle of traffic with your car’s engine overheating. If you are in fact ,stuck in the middle of traffic or somewhere that you can’t simply turn your vehicle off and open up the hood, it’s important to think and act quickly in order to prevent serious damage from being done to your engine.
In the event that your car is smoking right now, we’ll cut to the chase and show you how to quickly handle an overheating car engine. (But for those of you have more time, be sure to read up on more automotive tips and tricks that could come in handy some time down the road…literally.)
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The tips below are a few things to try to help buy yourself enough time to pull off on the side of the highway or exit. Once you are able to pull over, turn off your vehicle and open up the hood to allow it time to cool off.
DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING UNDER THE HOOD. Things are already hot enough under there, but if your engine has overheated, you’ll be running a high risk of a burn injury.
Steps-by-Step: Cool Down an Overheating Engine
Watch your temperature gauge: We’re not talking about the thermometer with the outside air temperature, but the gauge near your speedometer. If it climbs into the red “danger zone,” immediately turn off your air conditioning.
Fresh air flow: Open up all of your vehicle’s windows so that you don’t begin to overheat too and there is air circulation.
Blast the heat: Give your vehicle a minute and if you see that the vehicle still isn’t cooling down with the air conditioning turned off, blast the heat. This sounds crazy, but how a vehicle’s heater works is that it pulls hot air from the engine compartment and into your cabin. Although you’ll be roasting, it will help suck the hot air away from your engine, giving it a chance to breathe and cool down.
*Summer travel tip: If you think of it, when traveling long distances during the peak heat of the summer months, keeping a jug of coolant/antifreeze in your trunk is a good idea. Topping off your vehicle’s fluid can quickly help to stop the overheating.
Nissan at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show:
**Do this ONLY after your vehicle has had time to cool down. If you aren’t comfortable checking the radiator cap and replacing the radiator with coolant or water, seek a professional’s help to prevent injury or doing damage to your vehicle.
