My car is over heating, why is this happening? What should you do now? 

Amazing video Robert, thank you. I came here, say, from your other video on making your older car last a long time! I believe you covered everything regarding overheating, so I would like to just add my 2 cents very respectfully here. My car started overheating in stop-and-go traffic a few weeks ago and NOTHING was visibly wrong. To cut a long story short, the problem was not visible for the untrained eye (by the way with some steam coming out of the coolant reservoir and in HORRIBLE traffic in Mexico City!!), but it was the electric fan that had stopped working. So my mechanic advised when I talked to him, first looking at the obvious, when nothing seems wrong with the car because you have checked all the levels and everything seemed fine the last time you checked! Anyway, 1st., ELECTRIC FAN--cable, motor. It is a simple test with a couple of cables and your battery; 2nd., TEMPERATURE SENSOR (which moves the fan and is usually easy to replace); 3rd., THERMOSTAT (I believe easier and cheaper to replace than water pump), and finally THE WATER PUMP ITSELF. Again, this applies to a car in the above situation and NOT a car that is clearly leaking coolant or a car that overheats even at normal speeds. Thanks again for the video and take care.

5 years later and your video is STILL helpful, thanks for the advice and I definitely appreciate it 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

This is the first video I've watched of yours. Really well explained with precise and helpful details! Thanks.

This Video was only so great in terms of production value, but don’t let it fool you this guy explains these issues more helpfully than anyone I’ve heard. Thanks man.

this was extremely helpful! my mechanic had been lying to me when really I need a new radiator fan after popping the hood my damn self

Thank you! That’s the best DIY video I’ve ever seen! And I’ve seen a lot as I do all my own repairs on my truck and my home! Keep up the great work!

Great video Man you really got my problem, the cooling goes to the overflow tank, so I will have the head gasket change, thanks a million

Robert just wanted to say you did an excellent job of covering all bases and was very easy to follow you. Now on to my 2003 Silverado to do my own checks as it just started overheating a few days ago. Kudos!!

thanks bruh...wish you were up the block

Great video and nice clear explanation!

I love the way you break it down straight to the point

It is the most explaining video I have seen in RU-vid with engine matters.

Very informative....God Bless

Hi Robert, Our '96 Ford E150 had the temp gauge sensor reaching too high. Replaced the sensor and thermostat, but no fix. Never knew it was the water pump because there were no strange noises indicating a failure. Now it works perfectly, and while I was at it I replaced the radiator too. Thank you.

This is perhaps the most brilliant explanations about the many reasons why engine heats in a car. I knew one thing, my gasket was ok. Thank you.

Thanks Robert just Love the Way you explain even i can understand

Very helpful thanks a lot men

Very very informative and well explained. Good job.

This is a really good explanation for novice and mechanical people. Thanks man

Don't go to ur grave with the good to know information u have, pass it to others n let's all live happily around this machines, thanks a lot bro, God bless u with many more information to share, thank you. From south africa 😁

Well scotty kilmer says its because it has a turbo, a cold air intake, and its not a toyota celica.

This Video Helps A Lot! I Wish U Stayed Close To Me Because People Out Here You Cant Trust That Much With Your Car They Always Tryna Rip People Off! I Have A Leak Right Now Thats Bothersome But I Never Let My Temp Touch The Red Even Tho It Gets Close! I Will Try Not To Drive Until I Can Get Some Real Help! - A.D.$

Ur The Man bro.thank you for this video.u went threw it all about the heating.ur the best video I ever seen.u fixed my car.thank you

Clear, concise and thorough. Thank you.

Jonathan, for some reason I am not able to reply to your message. Likely some setting you have in your account. Anywho, when the thermostat is missing, it will take much longer for the car to warm up, so you need to install a thermostat. If there is corrosion in the system, it is likely due to someone using water instead of a coolant mix. The system should be flushed and filled with the proper coolant. The issue with the fan is likely either a problem with the relay or with a temperature sensor. You should fix that as well.

A blown head gasket is not the death of an engine, and can be fixed. Mine is 14yrs old and had a head gasket go. Got it fixed runs great!

Thank you for this video! Very informative!

thank Robert great info and video,keep doing videos on different engine problems.

When driving my car I can hear some knocking in the front of my car and today my air condition stop blowing cool air and I looked at my engine coolant temp. gauge and notice it had not even moved and I saw that the coolant didn't even show a temperature.

My reservoir was bubbling when I got home and I replaced the radiator cap and it stopped it but now its overheating. As soon as It starts to go over the normal temp I pull over and turn off the car. As soon as I started again even after a minute it wil go back to normal temperature but after 5 mins it will start overheating. I also noticed that when I turn on the heater it stops it from overheating. I grabbed some oil from my dipstick and put it on a spoon on the stove to see if it would bubble because water boils but not oil and thanfully my test did not boil. Any suggestions? (fans work, and topped off coolant after the bubbling incident)

You made an excellent video that taught me a lot of things. THANKS

Thank you Robert it was really helpful.

My 2003 chevy Malibu was overheating went to the full red on the highway I fill the coolant, tune up, temperature senor... there is no milky things in oil pure dark black....I replaced the thermostat and its been working good so far..... its about six lines before the red I'm still nervous driving on the highway...my engine light came on found out its the 02 sensor...some said its a head gasket

one thing to never do is open the radiator cap that will shoot very hot water out of the radiator and you are likely to get burned

Out of 100 videos i seen this video is the best

Fantastic video, so thorough.. Thanks!

Just always carry a lot of gallons of water or coolant and top off often until you can afford the repairs.

that looks like a engine...

Great video and explanation. Can't get any better than that. Thanks for posting.

Awesome explanation Robert! 👍😀

It's engine god damnit!

Love your video you explained everything so well

Usually with my car i can bypass waiting for the radiator fan to come on by turning on the A/C. Not sure if it works with other cars but on mine it'll kick on a minute or two after the A/C is turned on and this will work if the car isn't completely up to operating temps. Usually i will wait until the car is at operating temp before running the A/C but in extremely hot weather will keep my coolant temp gauge from going too much past the middle in which case when the coolant temp gets around 210-220 and by the time the fan turns on it would reach about 225-230 or more (which is right around the point where i'd be worried that your car could overheat). Personally the way they designed the car to have the fan to turn on when it's past the middle is too late, it should turn on when the needle gets about half way or moves past the middle point. (about 190-200). It really should not be going past middle at any time unless there is a problem and typically my car runs a bit hotter which is normal but that's when they need to have the fan run when the car's coolant temp is still at a safe temp.

Also TY for sharing what causes problems and you explain well

very good informational video. this guy knows his stuff. thank you so much.

Thank you for the video and the way you explained it

Beautiful explain tutorial..thank you Sir !

thank you for making a video on this topic

Fantastic video. Very informative.

Very well described about car ovheat.Thanks brother.

It's very clear & educational.Thank you very much

Exelent explanation one of the best ones

Well informative bro!!!

A GREAT TEACHER AND KNOWLEDGE!

that's all clear folks .great info

good job u will never lose ur time

Very well explained in elaborate.clear voice, clear video and i liked.

very good info. I recently purchased a vehicle from an auction and haven't had a chance to enjoy it yet bcuz cylinders 2 and 4 needed to be replaced. Took care of that only to find out that 3 was bad and that the car was over heating. The mechanic swears it's a good car but I'm worried that we will just b dumping money into a clunker. Your video is very imformative. Thanks

Very good video. I personally replace the coolant cap every 10 years. Go OEM and buy a new one. Not worth waiting until it goes bad. Just replaced on my 11 year old Toyota and Honda.

thanks for your effort and nice video...thumbs up

Good job, nice video, very helpfull, thank you.

“My car is overheating. Why is this happening?” (Because it hates me.) “What should you do now?” (Probably not sit on the curb and cry, but that’s what imma do). Awesome vid, thank you!

Very well explained. I was hoping you could do a video on "Diagnosing a bad fan clutch" since I as well as many of the comments seem to be experiencing similar issues with overheating.

Best video on this topic on youtube

brilliant thank you - mine is fine on motorway but raises in stop/start traffic. Wish you were my dad or brother as this is really interesting stuff x

Valuables Advice!

Really very informative video

Rob you are the man very good job thank you

Hello Robert, thanks for the elaborate and logical presentation and education. But I have this situation where my 1992 Lexus ES 300 with a replaced 2.5 litre engine, it's over heating at a higher speed only and remains ok in low rev and regular city.

Thank you so much for sharing your video tutorials 👍👏

vary good video ,thanks brother

Very Educative Video. Please share more, may God keep you alive.

My project car got close to overheating once while it was my daily driver. Was driving in traffic and saw it rising so I shut it off cause I was going nowhere anytime soon. When traffic started to move, I cranked it over and nothing happened. Finally started and drove somewhere to let it cool off for a few hours. Got home and noticed there was coolant sprayed all over the engine compartment. Safe to say I need to replace the head gasket now.

Very helpful 👍

Robert you r a saint.RESPECT

Very informative video on the topic. Thanks.

Good explanation thank you

My coolant reservoir on my 2000 BMW 323i exploded in New Orleans it was so hot that day.. I JB welded it and hair dried it fast for emergency by some people that wanted to help me in the neighborhood.. and I had a ways to get back towards home and I believe I blew the head gasket the car stopped and everything again and had to push it the rest of the way with some friends. I may try to put some blue devil or something in it as a last resort. thank you for your video

I have a 96 firebird, and the previous owner made the chilling fans manual. There is a on and off switch that lets me turn them on whenever. Also I tried replacing the thermostat, but I noticed there was no thermostat in the housing! Also I noticed that there was a little corrosion going on inside the radiator top where you pour in coolant. The gauge needle also takes a while to read operating temperature, I don't know what the problem is, do I need a new radiator? Please help!

very easy explain go see in the morning tx bro

You are so intelligent and know so much. How did you learn everything?

the tempature goes back to normal wen I'm at a stop aswell any ideas of wat it can be

Thanks for that information about the tap water ..I did that now they say I need a water pump....

In one minute you have said more than all the other videos. Im sick of narcistic people trying to be celebrities. You allow your hands to have the attention, they must feel special. Any way good job, You will do well. keep making good videos.

Hello Robert, thanks for the video. I am having overheating problems with my bmw e46 . I suspected a leak on the pipes and also the head tester appeared to be yellow.... Please I want to know if is the coolant leak causing the overheating or if my head gasket is actually blown.... because I am actually in doubt of the head tester results. Thank you.

What would really suck, is if the overheating is a freeze plug issue. Changing the freeze plugs normally require a mechanic to drop the transmission (big bucks). This is why, as you say, it is important to add the right anti-freeze and water mix to prevent that.

Killed it my guy!

well explained doctor

Hi, I found your video very insightful I have a 2013 Chrysler 200 lx 2.4 lt. Engine. Got my oil changed and fluids topped off 3 weeks ago and my car all of a sudden started to over heat this past week, do you think I might have air trapped somewhere from them putting new fluid in or do you think it's a thermostat? Should I take it back to meineke and have them look at it since they serviced it 3weeks ago my car has never done this before after getting an oil change. Thank you for any help

Very interesting and well explained

He needs to keep making videos 😍

Hi robert, my car over heat pass the middle that's when the cooling fan turn on a little bit to late i think never had happend this on this car i jus put a new temperature fan swith like two months ago everything was working ok but now this problem comes, what could be the problem maybe the temperature switch is malfuntioning should I buy the original from the dealer the one i bought is after market, please help me with this, please hel me, thank you.

great video thanks

Thank Robert, learn a lot from your video. liked and subscribed. I have an 88 volvo 740 recently having smoke coming out thru the front grill after 30 minutes driving or idle in traffic, is this smoke from bad/leaky radiator ? once i opened the hood with engine running and the fan running too, there was no smoke visible around engine block or near the radiator. I did smell something burning near the radiator. Temperature gauge on dash was at normal range. I have OEM radiator, thermostat and connecting hoses on order. if I drive for few short distance city trips until parts arrived, will i have my car engine over heated or damage my engine ? based on what i described, is my coolant pump still ok ? thanks in advance.

Thank you Robert i am going too check the fan.

Very informative

So i blew a hose due to faulty clamp..it did overheat..now is it ruined it ran about 10 minutes till i got home...started it today and it sounds normal...would i hear anything different if i cracked it or blew a hg

Smart man 👍

Thank you for making this video!

Very informative. I love it and I learned a lot.