Is Your Car Overheating?

There’s a funny odor of burnt sugar, a suspicious green drip from the front. The temperature gauge on your car is climbing higher than normal – at least, you don’t recall it getting near the red. After stopping your engine, you walk past the hood and hear a hissing sound… Is your car overheating? One of the worst problems your Acura – or any other model – can have is overheating. That’s one of the indicators that something is seriously wrong with your car or SUV. But are you being overly sensitive or is your car overheating for real? Here are a few signs that your engine is getting hotter than it should.

Signs of Your Car Overheating

Plume of Steam from Under the Hood

Whether you’re driving or you’ve just parked, it’s not normal to have steam puffing from under the hood. That’s a clear sign there’s coolant leaking from somewhere. The steam is a symptom of air in the cooling system, expanding and pushing coolant vapor out.

Temperature Gauge in the Red

The temperature gauge may be on your cluster, or you may have a warning light instead. If the temperature climbs into the red area on the gauge, or the ‘Engine Hot’ indicator comes on, it’s likely your car overheating.

Engine Knocking Noise

An engine that’s overheating can’t keep your engine in the optimal operating range. And what happens with a car overheating? The engine doesn’t sound healthy. You could have an engine knock or ping that only pops up when the engine is hotter than it should be.

A Puddle of Coolant

When you walk out to your car and there’s a puddle of green or orange under the front end, there’s a good chance your car will overheat. That’s engine coolant, and if your car’s cooling system isn’t full, there’s an extremely high possibility of your car overheating.   Have one of these signs on your Acura? Don’t put it off. Have Jay Wolfe Acura diagnose and repair the problem before serious additional damage occurs.