My Car Over Heated No Tell Tell Signs

[skinlan]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I have a gorgeous OO yaris which I love. I was driving it home from wexford on sat when I looked on the dash that the engine light had come on the Battery light and the red light for the water, no tell tale signs to warning then the car just came to a halt. The car had over heated.

Now on any other normal car I would see the needle going up and possibly some smoke but it was like I was driving along and it suddenly came up and the car just went bust..

Anyway I got my mechanic to come down and look at it and the gasket has gone and the engine is fairly damaged...Which is going to cost me over 1,000 euro in damages. What I want to know is why hadn't the light come on before, why wasn't there a whole load of smoke , it only seems to start smokin only a little when I pulled over.

Does anyone have any advise? I don't trust these digital screen as I cannot see what happening until the damage is done, is that the case??

Thanks a mill

Sonja

[lancashirecrumbly]

The red water light will have come on first to tell you that the water was over temperature, before any other damage was done - but unless you were checking for it, you probably wouldn't have noticed.

There is a light there but its not easy to spot unless you check regularly. Just like there's a green light when the engine is cold - but again, unless you look for it you wouldn't spot it...

[Chris81]

Whatever happenned to good old temperature gauges?! Ford still use them!

[stantheman1]

Sorry to hear of your problem, it sounds to me that the Aux. drive belt snapped which would have illuminated the red 'battery' charging light then shortly afterwards the red overtemperature light would have come on followed by the MIL (engine management)light, and as Mr. Crumbly correctly points out you wouldn't really notice them unless you check regularly, I don't think having an analoge display would have been much different.

It would be cheaper to obtain a replacement engine off eBay than to repair yours but if you go down this route make sure the replacement is a Japanese unit and not the French one as they are not interchangeable.(Check vin no. if it starts with J then it's Jap, if it starts with V it's French)

Hope that helps.

[Madasafish]

[i've only twice overheated an engine:

Once in a mIni where there was no coolant - it had all boiled away - and no warning lights at all.

The second was an Audi A4 where the top hose detached itself on the M6 at 70mph (honest officer) in the third lane and the warning lights lit up lik a ***** ams tree: and I stopped before any damage was done..

If you don't look at your instruments every minute, then I am afraid you may be driving without due care etc.. The light will have been on for a while possibly several minutes...

lots of eBay engines at £300 plus fitting...http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?Type=Engines%2520%2526%2520Components&rt=nc&Engine%2520%2526%2520Component%2520Options=Complete%2520Engines&_nkw=yaris%20engine&_dmpt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

[acetip]

Whatever happenned to good old temperature gauges?! Ford still use them!

hi chris81

the 3 diesel vw i had (86-91) had a warning light that showed when level in coolant reservoir got low so give plenty of warning.pity toyota does not fit something like that.

when turning on ignition the warning light flashed about 4 times testing this system.

[grin factor]

The wifes Panda has the old type temp guage.

It is a buga, but if you don't keep an eye on the warning lights things like this do happen

[Raeman]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I have a gorgeous OO yaris which I love. I was driving it home from wexford on sat when I looked on the dash that the engine light had come on the battery light and the red light for the water, no tell tale signs to warning then the car just came to a halt. The car had over heated.

Now on any other normal car I would see the needle going up and possibly some smoke but it was like I was driving along and it suddenly came up and the car just went bust..

Anyway I got my mechanic to come down and look at it and the gasket has gone and the engine is fairly damaged...Which is going to cost me over 1,000 euro in damages. What I want to know is why hadn't the light come on before, why wasn't there a whole load of smoke , it only seems to start smokin only a little when I pulled over.

Does anyone have any advise? I don't trust these digital screen as I cannot see what happening until the damage is done, is that the case??

Thanks a mill

Sonja

Sorry to hear of your woes. I've never heard of a head gasket going in a petrol Yaris before.

Has the car been regularly serviced and with coolant in the radiator?

Incidentally, when the car is cold, the temp light is blue and stays illuminated for about 5mins then goes off when the engine is at correct running temp.

Good luck with the repairs, it shouldn't cost 1000 euros for gods sake! I once had a 1.3 Golf (had a few) and the head gasket went on that through water pump failure.

It cost me about £40 to get the head skimmed and i payed a mechanic £200 for the repairs, car was good as gold afterwards and did another 80,000 miles before i sold it. That was about 15yrs ago now though so prices could have risen.

Shop around for prices before parting with a 1000 euros!

Good luck. :)

[lancashirecrumbly]

I suppose the theory is that you don't need a gauge really - its not like the petrol gauge where you want to know the exact value - the engine is either cold, normal temperature or too hot - so a "traffic light" system of "blue / off / red" lights ought to be enough if you spot them in time.

I have to say that even when I had an overheating issue in an older car with a temperature gauge, I never used to look at my temperature gauge enough to see the issue developing - whenever I did have an overheating problem - there was a horrible moment when all of a sudden, I realised that the temperature gauge needle was firmly and fully into the "hot" end and it was probably something else that caused me to look at the gauge...

Its probably a lesson to us all - how many times per mile do any of us review the dashboard of any car we're driving to check that all the gauges are normal and that there are no warning lights lit.

We all should be doing that consciously and regularly, every few minutes, but I'll bet not many of us actually do that - a quick glance at the speedo now and then to check our speed and the occasional review of the fuel gauge is probably about all the attention the dashboard gets on a normal journey...

[PercyVerance]

I recently had the same problem. My daughter was driving the car on the motorway when the car just stopped. She didn't see any warning light. The garage reported that as well as the head gasket, the piston rings had gone. It had got so hot t,he dipstick had melted! Time for a new engine.

I was advised that the warning light will not come on if there is no water. A large hole in the radiator had caused the water to leak out quickly. A low water level warning could be useful. It may have leaked out before she started driving it?

[Jamesbelfast]

There is a cheap and easy solution to improving coolant or oil warnings. I have seen numerous commercial vehicles whereby if either light illuminates or coolant or oil go low it activates the piezzo buzzer for the lights-on warning. Sadly car manufacturers haven't even attempted such a simple solution. Lets be honest it ain't rocket science and is cheap to do. I have seen similar applications on rally cars wherby some elctronic wozadr just solders a mini piezzo buzzer to each warning light.:)

[gar]

The buzzer idea is good, I was about to suggest a similar idea but also, many people moan enough about all the other alarm-thingies such as seatbelt unfastened, lights on, handbrake on, Etc so could be just another pain the the !Removed!!

Also, many newer cars are using can-bus wiring systems so adding bits may not actually work!

I have a Yaris and a Skoda Fabia, both have the "Blue cold,Red hot" lights with no middle ground but, hey, thats modern motoring. Most of the time its irrelevent, like speeding but then, you get a hiccup and you are in big trouble! As for gauges, they often fail anyway and if the water is low, they cant measure the temp anyway.... the sensor perhaps ought to be on the bottom of the rad, not the top Or even in the engine! The scale would need to change there but it must be do-able!

[Cyker]

That's another reason why it's good to check the oil in the car regularly, as you can also check the other fluid levels while you're doing it!

[grin factor]

Its pants the car overheated, and you did not see the warning light.

Its right tho', how many times do we check these things? Not many. Most of the time we are watching the idiots around us, making sure they don't hit us, turn in front of us etc.

I'm surprised no-one has suggested a huge hand come out, slap you on the back of the head, then a voice say" running hot knacker"

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

I have to say that I am in disagreement with some other forum posters. ALWAYS check your instrument pannel! Don't stare at it but consciously check it REGULARLY! No matter what you're doing, always check your mirrors and in the process look at the dash or even better, because the dash is in the middle check your rear view mirror and then your instrument pannel!!!!

I find the icons on the instrument pannel very clear and whenever and wherever I'm driving I'm always glancing at my speed, making sure nothing has come on to cause alarm, looking around me etc. etc.

[gar]

I have to agree with Cherry, there! A quick look now and again will keep you safe, on many levels!

How often do you see some numpty driving for mile upon mile with an indicator signal still flashing away, trying its best to burn out the bulb? Or someone gets caught for speeding, say's "I never knew I was going so fast"?

Look at the controls... Stay IN control!

There will always be an exception but it's mostly, in all honesty, excuses.

I still check the instruments at regular intervals... I would venture to bet you will too, from now on. Sorry if that sounds sarky, it's not meant to but I recon you will never run out of coolant again, barring a holed rad!

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

If people looked at their instrument pannels and did simple car checks before they set off more often, perhaps that would reduce the number of accidents on the roads? Driving is a pleasure but you MUST be alert at all times! Always check your mirrors and your instrument pannel periodically!

Ha ha, it is my pet hate when I see some idiot driving along with their indicator on still. Really, really annoys me and they shouldn't be on the road if they don't look at their instrument pannel for more than five minutes!

Another one of mine is when people come to a halt because they run out of fuel and weren't paying attention. The digital fuel thingy flashes at you for Gods sake! Never go below two bars but if you have to, make sure you fill up when it hits one bar and starts flashing!

Rant over :)

[gar]

Agree about the fuel light totally... You can go another 30 miles once it starts flashing so WHEN THE **LL :censor: ARE YOU GOING TO FILL UP? :P

I know its running off subject a little, but how about people who use thier hazzard warning lights to pull up, particularly when wanting to stop somewhere illegally or reverse parking? For crying out loud... Signal left, pull up alongside the car you are going to park behind, pop into reverse gear, signal off (You now have a reversing light... Thats what it is for)! Then pull in if there is a safe gap in the traffic!!!

And out came another handfull of my own hair! :ffs:

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Aye, aye, there are loads of motorists out there who shouldn't be driving!

My biggest bug bear is roundabouts. If you go on a round about at least have the decency to signal where you're going (apart from straight obviously) and then go through with it! Other motorists aren't psychic!

[Rumbly]

This is a bit of an ald post now but anyway .... are you absulotely sure the head gasket has actually blown?? 1000 Euros sounds like an awful lot to replace a head gasket even if the head does need skimming.

To check if the head gasket is actually blown take your car to a reputable garage and have them test the coolant for the presence of combustion gasses. This is done with a chemical that changes colour in the presence of combustion gasses .... if it does not change colour your head gasket is not blown if it does it is ... end of ... no speculation, and should not cost much.