It’s easy to think you can’t prevent an overheated engine apart from leaving your car at home, however, this simply isn’t true.

One of the many great benefits to owning your own car is the ability to take your friends and your family to the beach on a hot day or even on a road trip adventure. However, if you don’t stay aware of the heat and your struggling engine, your adventure can be abruptly canceled with plumes of steam coming from your engine. If you want to make the most of the upcoming hot weather but don’t like the idea of being stuck on the side of the road with an overheated engine, Mooresville Synthetic Oil has a great post to help you both prevent an overheated engine and deal with one.

Find Better Routes

Getting stuck in traffic on a moderate day is frustrating enough, without the added stress and worry of your engine overheating when the sun is scorching overhead. Instead:

• Look online, before you leave the house, to locate and avoid traffic problems and road works which would see you sitting still for too long and your engine becoming too hot. Driving an extra 5 minutes without traffic can save you 45 minutes waiting for your engine to cool down.
• Consider moving your schedule and errands to the evening when the heat has subsided and there is less traffic on the roads.

If you are stuck in traffic for a short period and notice your temperature beginning to rise, shift into neutral and rev your engine slightly. This will make your engine fan spin, giving your engine a very short reprieve.

Keep an Eye on Your Temperature Gauge

If you think that your temperature gauge is showing you what is going to happen, then you are reading it wrong. Instead, the temperature gauge is an early indicator of what can happen if you ignore its warning. The next time that you are stuck in traffic and your engine starts to heat up, instead of crossing your fingers and toes and hoping for the best, look ahead for any safe spaces you will be able to pull over if need be, or if you can see that traffic will soon be moving again. If you can’t see either, then consider pulling over now while you have the opportunity and waiting for the temperature to lower or traffic to alleviate. Simply pulling over for 20 minutes on your way to the beach can not only prevent you from getting stuck for hours waiting for help to arrive but potentially prevent you from needing to cancel the trip altogether. Click here to buy Signature Series 0W-20 Synthetic Motor Oil and help keep your engine temperature low with a synthetic oil change. To place an order or to simply find out more about how a synthetic oil change in High Point, NC can improve your engine performance during hot weather, speak with a friendly professional at Mooresville Synthetic Oil by calling (336) 247-0212 or browse through the online store.

Say No to the A/C

As convenient as the air conditioner in your vehicle is at reducing the temperature in your cabin and making you and your passengers feel comfortable, it also puts a large amount of strain on your already-struggling engine as it utilizes a separate motor to operate. Put simply, using your air conditioner in extreme heat can cause your engine to overheat. Instead, consider lowering your windows, including the rear windows, and allowing the natural air flow to cool your cabin and push out the hot and stale air from the rear windows. Not only can this help to make you all feel more comfortable, but it also helps keep your engine temperature down. If you want to give your engine an extra help, you can switch on your heat and direct your vents outside your cabin, to help take some heat away from your engine.

Managing an Overheated Engine

If you are unlucky enough to find yourself dealing with an overheated engine, you should keep in mind that there isn’t anything you can do except for pulling over safely and waiting for your engine to cool down. There are, however, some things which you should avoid doing:

• The radiator and its cap will be extremely hot, so avoid touching either of them straight away. Instead, wait and use your visual cues to determine whether it is cool enough to touch. In addition to the radiator cap causing burns, the water inside will be extremely hot and pressurize, causing it to splash out if you take the cap off too soon.
• Once the radiator cap has been safely removed, resist the urge to immediately fill it with cold water or coolant. Pouring cold water into a hot radiator can cause it to crack, which means it will need to be replaced.

Improve Engine Performance with a Synthetic Oil Change in High Point, NC

The above tips are great to prevent your engine from overheating, however, nothing beats keeping your engine in good health with basic maintenance, like a regular synthetic oil change. To find out more about the benefits of a synthetic oil change or to place an order, speak with an expert at Mooresville Synthetic Oil by calling (336) 247-0212.