Thread: Overheating: Need quick advice

My car just started overheating today, and i have to get it figured out by tomorrow evening because im supposed to give my boss a ride to the airport.

I've never had overheating problems before, and today i took my car to Walmart to get an oil change (i know, i know...it was cheap and i don't have a garage). On the way home it starts overheating, so i'm thinking it was something they did (could be coincidence...i dunno)

When they topped off the coolant, they poured it into the overflow tank with pretty high pressure. Could that have caused a bubble in the system??

Any help appreciated!

Did they take the rad cap off and leave it off? I've had more than one car come from wallyworld like that. And no them topping off the overflow tank will not cause a bubble. Was it overheating as in temp gauge spiking or steam rolling out of the engine bay?

They didn't remove the rad cap at all, only topping off the fluid inside the overflow tank.

Overfilling the car will not create air bubbles or overheating. excess coolant will come out of the reservoir by design... you got something else going on.

You had wal mart change your oil......... did they forget to put oil in? hehe..

Otherwise you've got problems with your cooling system. When was the last time you flushed it or changed out your waterpump/thermostat?

Just to be sure, check the oil level on the dipstick... I wouldn't doubt they didnt put enough...

Like I said, steam coming out the engine bay or temp gauge pegged?

If the temp gauge is pegged it's probably your t stat is stuck closed. If steam is rolling out of the engine you've got a bigger problem, possibly a leak somewhere hitting your exhaust or something to that nature.

not putting enough oil is not going to cause your car to over heat. If that was the case i been a quart low now for who knows how long and my shit stays at a cool 185 190 all the time.

x's 2. How do you know it was overheating? That info will be the first step towards figuring out what is going on.

Exactly. If they topped off the overflow tank it is going to spew coolant everywhere once it heats up causing lots of steam and a sweet smell... but you're not overheating.

Flushed 1 year ago, new water pump 1.5 years ago, new thermostat at most 4 years (can't remember if i did it more recent)



Oil level is ok. I checked that before even driving out of the parking lot!!



The temp gauge was really high (not over the acceptable limit tho so i don't think it caused any damage)



Thanks guys! I think the problem is related to the fans not turning on properly tho, and hopefully cooling system is working good. I went out this morning and let the car idle and no overheating. It was much cooler this morning than yesterday (95 degrees), so the cooling system was able to handle it without the fans. Yesterday, the cooling system was probably not enough to handle the heat so the fans were needed, but they didn't turn on. That's my theory atleast. For the ride to the airport I'll just turn the AC switch on which will turn the fans on. Thanks guys.