The last thing you want this summer is to be broken down on the side of the road with an overheating car. An overheated car can cause serious damage to its internal components, including the cylinder heads, head gasket, and engine block. This damage can lead to expensive repairs or, in severe cases, the need for a complete replacement. And not only is this dangerous to the car, but it can be dangerous for its passengers!

Here’s what you need to know about keeping your car cool this summer:

1. Newer cars are exceptionally great at staying cool, so if you have a newer car and it’s well maintained, you really don’t have much to worry about. (That being said, it’s still worth reading the rest as even new cars can overheat and there are things you can do to help avoid it!)
2. Cars are generally cooled by air passing through the radiator, which cools the fluid (coolant) down that goes through the engine to keep the engine cool. Two things are important for your car to stay cool: The car needs to be moving at a decent speed and the engine should be moving at a slower speed. If the engine is revving really high, it’s working harder and getting hotter. If the car isn’t moving, there is a fan that is not nearly as effective as the car at speed.

Hot days are hard on the cooling system and hot days with traffic are worse, and when the air conditioner is on, the engine has to work even harder — so that’s even worse.

Here’s what to do on those hot days, especially if you find yourself stuck in traffic:

1. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge. DO NOT let the car overheat. Overheating is really bad, like ‘time for a new engine’ bad. When that temperature gauge gets into the red zone, turn the car off and open the hood. DO NOT open the radiator. The coolant is pressurized, allowing it to get hotter than boiling water.
2. If the temperature is rising, start by turning the A/C off. If it keeps going in the wrong direction, increase the size of the cooling system by turning on the heat. The heater is powered by a heater core which is essentially a small radiator. While you’ll be very uncomfortable, your car will cool down and you’ll make it where you need to go.
3. AAA Plus: Get up to a 100-mile tow! If your car is not in tip-top shape, there’s nothing like a free tow.