You're cruising along the highway and next thing you know smoke is coming out of your car engine. You forgot to keep your eyes on the temperature gauge and yes, your car is overheating. You have only yourself to blame but don't panic. Pull over before it gets too hot and wreck your engine entirely.First you need to turn the engine off and wait until it cooled down completely before you open the hood.

Check the coolant reservoir tank first, it's a plastic jug with a small hose running to the radiator. Open the radiator cap carefully with a rag. Make sure it's cooled completely, you don't want to burn yourself with steam or hot coolant.If the radiator needs to be filled, fill it up to the top with a mixture of 50% coolant to 50% water. In case of emergency, it's ok to add just plain water or coolant but it's best to keep a spare gallon of the mixture.

Check to see if the upper, lower or any heating hoses have burst.If you have a burst hose or if the coolant level was not dropped but your car was overheated, you will need to get your car serviced.Understand that you can still drive the car if you're far from the phone or service station but you have to watch the temperature gauge obsessively, don't let the needle go into the red. Drive and stop when the gauge gets close to red and let the engine cool down before you drive again.

It may take a long time until you get to the service station but it maybe better than walking.

By: Oh Srichaphan