Overheated Engine

Things to Consider Checking Before a Road Trip: Overheating Your Engine

The hot summer months take up almost half of the year, and flights can seem unreasonably expensive sometimes. When you have a reliable vehicle, why not take a road trip and soak up quality time with your friends or family. Prepping for a road trip can be intense, especially with kids, all of the planning and packing can be stressful. We want to make sure your road trip goes smoothly and more importantly, your car runs smoothly. It is always a possibility that your car can experience overheating. Overheating is when your vehicle's cooling system becomes compromised, and heat can't be released. Damages can be caused to your vehicle further and possibly threaten you and the passenger's safety when you have an overheated engine. An overheated engine can look like smoke coming from the hood, this is actually just steam but it can be a sign of overheating. You can also notice if your car begins to overheat by checking the engine gauge. If the gauge has moved all the way to the "H" side or is in the red, it is likely that your car will begin to overheat. 

To ensure that your vehicle does not experience overheating, follow these precautions while traveling to your destination. UV window covers, and engine coolant are two things you can purchase before your trip as a precaution. Window shades can be used when you are not in the vehicle to keep the car cooler inside and a plus is that they help with damages your interior could experience from the sun. While embarking on your road trip, try and remember when you stop for gas, food, or to take a break from the drive to park your vehicle in the shade. If you feel comfortable, slightly lower your windows so that airflow can circulate through the vehicle. While driving, make sure to put your AC setting on the fresh air instead of the circulation setting. This will bring in new cool air rather than just circulating already warm air. 

If your vehicle does experience overheating of the engine, immediately turn on your hazard lights. This ensures that all vehicles around you know to be precautious and that you might have car troubles. Pull over on the shoulder of the road or any nearest parking lot. If you are able to find a spot with shade that would help but make sure to open all doors and roll down all windows. As crazy as it might sound, once you have pulled over to a safe location, turn on your cabin heater. The heat admitted from your heater will draw out some of the heat from the engine allowing the cooling system to do its job. If you are able to get engine coolant, that could be your last shot of cooling the vehicle down yourself. When going to add the coolant, make sure that you have waited approximately 15 minutes or until the hood of the car has completely cooled off. If none of these easy remedies work, it would be best to call and make accommodations with a shop and let the experts handle it. If you are able, calling a tow truck can always be a safe option.  

Keep in mind that the safety of you and your passengers is what's most important, a trip can always wait if it has to come to that.