Is Your Car Overheating? 3 Possible Reasons

An engine that gets too hot will suffer damage. If you have a car overheating, your Hyundai dealer can help you. These are some of the reasons your engine is getting too hot.

Failed Thermostat

The thermostat is a small valve in your cooling system, and it controls the release of coolant. When your engine temperature rises too high, the thermostat detects the change and opens to release coolant. The coolant is pumped through your engine to absorb heat. It then takes it to the radiator where the heat is removed.

Although the thermostat is a simple component, it can fail. A failed thermostat will jam either open or closed. A thermostat that jams closed will prevent the release of coolant regardless of the engine temperature. If this happens, your engine temperature will rapidly soar as the cooling system fails. Our technicians will check the thermostat and replace it if it’s jammed.

Leaking Coolant

Coolant is vital for your cooling system, as it’s the only way your engine can remove heat. As we’ve seen, coolant is released when the engine temperature reaches a preset point. The coolant is pumped through your engine and absorbs heat as it travels. The final destination for the hot coolant is your radiator, where the heat in the coolant is exchanged for cooler outside air.

Coolant leaks are usually easy to see, as coolant is available in pink, blue, yellow, and green. A pool of liquid in any of these colors under your car is a definite coolant leak. Sometimes coolant can leak into your exhaust system. If this happens, you’ll notice your exhaust smoke becomes thick and white due to the water in the coolant. We’ll trace the source of the leak and fix it.

Damaged Radiator Fan

The hot coolant is cooled by airflow over the radiator tubes. As your car moves faster, the airflow will also increase. This system works perfectly and very efficiently. It does, however, depend on your car moving to remove the heat from the coolant. If your car is idling, airflow through the radiator grille is negligible. For these circumstances, you have a radiator fan.

The radiator fan is attached to the back of the radiator. When your engine is running but your car isn’t moving, the fan will switch on. This fan is controlled by the thermal switch that detects the heat from the coolant. The fan blows across the tubes and pushes hot air out. If the fan is damaged, your car will start overheating whenever it’s idling. We can’t repair the fan, but we can replace the radiator to fix the problem.

Don’t risk damage to your engine. Call us today at Crain Hyundai of Fort Smith.
Image via Hyundai.

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