Car Overheating? These Are the 3 Most Common Causes

Your car engine operates at a high temperature. This is due to the heat from compression and the hundreds of moving parts in the engine. Your car overheating is one of the worst problems for your car. Increasing heat can damage the head gasket, the cylinders, and the pistons. This situation doesn’t have to happen, as your Nissan dealer can solve your overheating problem. These are a few of the possible causes of overheating.

Coolant Leak

Leaking coolant is one of the main causes of overheating. Coolant is vital for your engine as it absorbs engine heat and takes it to the radiator for cooling. This liquid is pumped through your engine at high speed and under high pressure. Once the hot coolant arrives in your radiator it enters the radiator tubes. These tubes provide a large surface area that allows for rapid cooling.

Coolant can leak from a hole in the radiator hose, a damaged radiator, or a worn radiator cap seal. The lack of coolant will slow down the cooling process, and your engine temperature will increase. Coolant leaks are usually very easy to notice, as coolant is green, blue, pink, or yellow. If you spot a leak, it’s time to call our service department. We’ll trace the leak and repair the damage.

Failed Water Pump

As we’ve seen, coolant is essential for controlling your engine temperature. The coolant, however, depends on the water pump to move it through your engine. This pump activates as soon as coolant is released. It will continue to run until the engine temperature falls below 180 F. The pump is small but powerful, and it’s capable of moving the coolant at high speed for lengthy periods.

The pump can fail due to age, wear, or even a blown electrical fuse. If your pump isn’t working, the coolant will be unable to move. The lack of heat absorption by the coolant will rapidly lead to an increase in your engine temperature. Our technicians will check the pump and repair or replace it depending on the cause of the trouble.

Damaged Thermostat

Although the pump moves the coolant, the release of the coolant is governed by the thermostat. The thermostat is a small valve that can sense heat. It’s programmed to open when your engine temperature hits a pre-determined point. Once the temperature is reached, the valve opens and releases coolant.

A damaged thermostat presents serious problems for your engine. If the thermostat fails to open, the coolant won’t be released. This will cause your engine to overheat. We can fix this problem by replacing the thermostat, and the coolant will flow again.

If your car is overheating, call us ASAP at Nissan of Picayune. Our experts will fix the problem for you.