A crucial dashboard light means you should immediately pull over, or you could risk causing severe damage to your engine and escalating a minor issue into a costly one. When driving a car for any extended period, your engine will start to heat up significantly due to the power it generates.
To safeguard your engine from heat-related damage, your car is fitted with a cooling system that maintains optimal temperatures to ensure everything operates smoothly. However, there are instances when many of the different components linked to your cooling system can fail, resulting in the engine overheating.
When this occurs, your car will likely display a warning with a dashboard light, typically symbolised by a red thermometer with red waves underneath. Some cars equipped with a screen may also display the warning on there, accompanied by a sound.
If your temperature warning light flashes, you should pull over and bring your car to a halt as soon as possible where safe. This is because driving even a short distance with an overheated engine can lead to significant damage to the engine itself.
One common risk of driving an engine that is too hot is damage to the head gasket, which can cost roughly £662 on average to repair, according to RAC. In other cases, your engine could completely fail which, depending on the issue and make of your car, could cost thousands of pounds to replace.
Once you have safely parked your car, switched on your hazard lights, and exited the vehicle, it is advisable to open the bonnet if possible and let the engine cool down for at least half an hour. The RAC advises never to attempt to remove your vehicle's radiator cap while the engine is overheated, as the coolant can still be extremely hot and the pressure build-up could cause the hot coolant to burst out, potentially causing severe burns.
Your vehicle's cooling system is made up of a variety of different components, all of which can fail at any time. However, some of the most common causes of a vehicle overheating can be:
If you find that after topping up the coolant in your car that it is still overheating, it is advised that you get it seen by a professional who can help diagnose and fix the problem associated with the overheating.
