Imagine driving home with the radio playing when suddenly your dashboard lights up brighter than a Christmas tree. Among the many alarms going off are a few that make your heart jump. One stands out: your engine is overheating. Most new drivers would say to themselves, “Aha, it’ll probably be fine. I’ll get there just fine.” This is likely one of the most costly mistakes you can make.
The Will to Keep Going
When your car overheats, it’s easy to just ignore the warning. Who’s willing to stop and lose precious time? Who’s willing to risk the potential aggravation? But disobeying this signal can have catastrophic results—like a head gasket blow-out or worse!
When Driving with the Vehicle Overheating:
- Head Gasket Failure: Your car also includes a head gasket sealing the combustion chamber and holding the coolant. When your car overheats, the head gasket will fail and lead to leaks and costly repairs into the thousands.
- Engine Seizure: When overheating occurs, the engine might seize entirely from a lack of lubrication or heat damage entirely excessive. Occasionally this means goodbye car entirely—a total loss.
- Radiator issues: Prolonged overheating will destroy your radiator and other cooling system parts. They are more expensive to replace.
How Much Will It Cost?
Repairing a blown head gasket yourself will cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500 or more. When your car is going to need a lot of work or is rendered immovable due to the severity of the damage, you will be selling it for scrap value—usually a fraction of what you originally purchased it for.
What You Can Do Instead
- Be Watchful: Monitor your dashboard lights and your temperature gauge constantly.
- Pull Over Immediately: If the overheating light is on, drive as fast as safely possible to the first safe place.
- Turn Off the Engine: You must let the engine cool down first before looking under the hood.
- Call for help: It’s better to call for help than drive further and do further damage.
Tips for Young Drivers
Being a student or young driver juggling schedules and activities, however, your top priority should be safety over convenience:
- Learn Basic Maintenance: Familiarize yourself with basic checks like coolant levels and fluid leaks.
- Save Roadside Numbers: Keep roadside service numbers stored in your telephone.
- Remaining Calm When Things Go Wrong: Knowing how to react when things do go wrong will help prevent you from losing your head.
Conclusion
Driving around with a hot-running motor isn’t just dangerous; it’s catastrophic. When you recognize the meaning behind the lights on the dashboard and take action the moment they are observed, you’ll save yourself some serious dollars and get your vehicle back on the road for the next two or three years.
So remember this—better safe than sorry where car issues are concerned! Should your car unfortunately overheated, and the engine is worse than you are capable or willing to fix, contact us now on 0431463481. We buy any type of cars and give the best cash for cars Adelaide value while towing your car for free—regardless of where your location is within Adelaide.