Maintaining your Jaguar is important to prevent expensive and unnecessary car breakdowns in the future. As the holidays draw closer, many of us will be planning road trips, so it is best to ensure your Jaguar is serviced before counting on it for long drives through inclimate weather. An issue to prevent from damping your holidays is an overheating engine. The most effective way to prevent this is to bring your vehicle in for regular services. The coolant and engine is checked with diagnostic tools and a visual inspection, effectively ensuring that your car is ready on demand.
Common Causes of Engine Overheating
Below are the most common reasons your Jaguar engine will overheat:
- Lack of Coolant: The cooling system works with other parts to maintain the temperature in the engine bay. Any malfunction with the cooling system will result in the antifreeze not circulating properly, which will cause a steep rise in engine temperature.
- Failure of the Engine’s Thermostat: The thermostat is responsible for regulating the amount of coolant flowing through the engine. A broken or malfunctioning one can easily cause your car to overheat.
- Low Motor Oil: Oil helps to remove excess heat from the engine by preventing friction between metal parts. Low motor oil will allow these parts to rub together, generating ane extreme amount of heat and damaging those parts, which will cost an excessive amount to repair over a simple oil change and service.
- Broken Radiator Cooling Fan: If your cooling fan isn’t working as designed, it is not providing enough cool air flow through the engine. All these components must work together to keep your engine at its optimum temperature.
Watch for a Hot Engine
Keep your eye on the car temperature gauge on the dashboard. The needle should always be pointing toward the center. If it points toward hot or the red, follow the steps listed below to cool down the vehicle.
- Turn on the heat to cool the engine: Turning on the heat in the vehicle’s cabin can pull hot air from the engine compartment and cool the engine. This may only allow you to drive immediately to a trusted Jaguar dealer, and no further, but it may help cool the engine for a very short time.
- Add engine coolant: Use caution here, as never add coolant to a hot engine. Wait for the engine to cool down at least 30 minutes before removing the cap or pouring in coolant.
- Have a mechanic check your radiator for leaks and failures. Also, check the radiator cap for damage, as a loose or damaged radiator cap will prevent the coolant from circulating through the system.
When Your Jaguar’s Engine Overheats
If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation where your vehicle has overheated follow these steps:
- Safely pull over to the side of the road and turn off the car for at least 30 minutes.
- Open the hood to allow the vehicle to cool faster. Many people may advise that you should pour cool water over the radiator; however, do not do this as it could crack the extremely hot metal parts, which will lead to far more expensive repairs.
- Look for steam or leaks. Do a brief inspection to see if steam or smoke is coming from a crack in any hoses. Also, look for leaking coolant (also called antifreeze) from the radiator, hoses, or engine block.
- Once your car has cooled off and you’ve added more coolant, try to start your Jaguar. If you hear any unusual sounds or can see the temperature gauge rising again, switch it off and call for a tow.
- You will need a professional Jaguar mechanic to assess your vehicle immediately.
European Service Center will Repair Your Jaguar
European Service Center is a family-owned business that has been in operation since 1979. Our professional technicians are waiting to service your Jaguar and get you back on the road safely with confidence in your car again. Give us a call today for an emergency tow or to book an appointment for routine service in Houston, TX and in Atlanta, GA. We do it all, so come visit us today!
