What to do if your car overheats

 Have you ever had your vehicle overheat? It can be a pretty stressful experience and if you don't handle it correctly, an expensive one. Unfortunately, the threat of your ride overheating is all too real in the summer. We're here to help you avoid this situation - check out these quick tips on how to handle an overheated car from our expert techs at Toyota of Orlando. 

How to deal with your car overheating: Quick tips 

First things first - how do you know if your car is overheating? Here are a few telltale signs: 

• Your temperature gauge is in the red
• You see steam coming from the engine 
• You smell leaking or burnt coolant coming from the engine bay

Step #1: Pull over. You should never try to continue driving an overheating car - this can do permanent and even irreparable damage to your vehicle. If you see steam coming out of the engine or catch the temperature gauge rising, immediately find a safe place to pull over so you can let your car cool off and get to the bottom of the issue. 

Step #2: Turn off the A/C and turn on the heat. Once you're safely parked, turn off the air-conditioning and turn on the heat. It sounds weird, we know, and the last thing you want to do when it's already hot outside is turn on the heat. However, this will pull some of the heat away from the engine and help your overheating car cool down quicker. 

Step #3: Check your coolant level. After you've let things cool down for a bit, pop the hood. Note: You should never pop the hood of a car that just overheated - things are bound to be extremely hot in the engine bay and you could burn yourself. This is especially true of the radiator; DO NOT remove the radiator cap as scalding hot water could spray you. 

Once your car is cooled down, check the coolant reservoir to see if there's any fluid in it. If it's low or empty, try adding coolant or even water and see if your Orlando Toyota cools down a little. If it doesn't, you could have a leak in the system or an issue somewhere else, like with your radiator or water pump. 

Step #4: Head to a repair shop. If your car has cooled down, you can try heading to an auto repair shop (like our Orlando Toyota service center) to have expert techs take a look at the system and pinpoint the problem. However, keep an eye on the temperature gauge; if it's rising, your car could be overheating again and you need to pull over and call a tow truck to get it to where it needs to go. 

Whatever you do, don't ignore an overheating car. There's obviously an issue and the longer you let it linger, the worse damage it can do (and more money it can cost you). Let our Orlando Toyota auto service techs fix the problem and save your time, money, and sanity. 

Let Toyota of Orlando help you cool things down

Call us today - Toyota of Orlando is open seven days a week at (407) 298-0001 and we're conveniently located just off I-4 across from the Millenia Mall at 3575 Vineland Road.