How long can a car overheat before damage?

Overheating is one of the most important things that you need to consider while driving. Everyone knows that the car heats up. That’s why they need to keep the water in a car’s radiator full to avoid overheating their vehicle. But people still want to know how long can a car overheat before damage?

A car always needs a lot of attention and care when driven daily. One of the things to check daily is the coolant in your vehicle’s radiator. But people often forget the simple precaution and end up getting the engine of their car damaged. Engine repairs cost a lot of money, which annoys everyone.

So, if you are going to follow all the precautions before stepping into your car, then you might be able to save your money and your car’s engine life. But since you sometimes do not have a choice but to drive even when your car is overheating, we can provide you with some information about overheating of a car and how does it work?

Let’s dive into the details:

How long can a car overheat before damage?

How does overheating of a car happen? When an engine of a vehicle is started, it is running on an average temperature of 50 to 60 degrees centigrade. But when your car is overheated, the engine’s temperature ranges from 120 degrees to 130 degrees.

At this temperature, the engine parts start to wear out and twist because it is too much temperature for an engine. The engine of a car cannot keep running at this temperature because the engine is already heated up, and more miles can cause severe damage to your engine.

Are you looking for a time frame regarding how long can a car overheat before damage? Then the time frame is not ideal for every vehicle. Some vehicles might be able to travel more distance than most cars, but it is not recommended even to keep driving when you are aware of the overheating of your vehicle.

By knowing all the aspects of damages you can face while driving your car with an overheated engine, you should know the simple part. When your vehicle is at 130 degrees Celsius, it cannot bear more than 1 minute of the drive before getting damaged.

How to keep track of overheating of your car?

Some car companies take into consideration the recklessness of drivers regarding heat problems. So, the car companies adjust the thermostat or temperature gauge needle so that when the engine is not cooled down by the cooling system, the meter needle starts rising towards the H sign.

It is the sign that you have to notice that the engine is starting to get hot, and you should check if the coolant level is low. When the needle crosses the first point on the meter, you need to rest your engine and check the coolant level.

If the coolant level is low, you must fill the coolant tank with the required amount of coolant. It will calm the engine down, and it will come back to its required temperature. Many check lights indicate the errors or problems in your car, and they are all serious to notice.

The temperature gauge is one of the most important ones because your car’s engine is always at risk if you are driving with an overheated engine.

What causes the engine of a car to overheat?

The particular kind of information that every modern age driver must know about when they have a question regarding how long a car can overheat before damage is overheating the engine.

Coolant is low

The most common reason for engine overheat is, of course, the coolant level. A coolant in your car’s radiator plays an essential role in keeping the engine temperature idle. The water pump travels this coolant to all the necessary engine points to maintain the temperature.

The coolant takes the heat from your engine, goes towards the radiator for cooling down, and repeats the process in a flow again and again. When the temperature gauge shows some changes, there is something wrong with the coolant, significantly when the needle on the indicator is rising.

Low engine oil

If you only go a few miles on your car daily and the coolant level is intact and not decreasing when you drive, there might be another reason for your car heating up. When the engine oil level is low, the engine starts to heat up, as there is more friction inside the engine and the parts are not getting enough oil to lubricate and run properly.

In this scenario, the engine can be at high risk of seizing and wearing up parts that are too costly to fix.

Defective thermostat

The device that monitors the engine’s temperature and keeps the cooling system running as needed is called the thermostat of your car. The thermostat is responsible for coolant delivery and engine overheating. A defective thermostat can be the possibility of your vehicle overheating.

If the thermostat is defective, it will not let the cooling system work, and eventually, the car will keep on overheating with every mile.

How many miles can a car go during overheating?

There is always a limit to every car they can bear damage. Overheating does not happen so quickly that you cannot notice the malfunction and do something about it. It is happening slowly and is notifying you about the problem with every mile.

The best practice is to keep an eye on the display panel of your car where all the engine signs and shown. People who know their vehicle are not worried about their car engine even if their coolant level is low or the temperature of their car is rising.

Experts have confirmed that you cannot keep the car running above 120 degrees Celsius for a longer time. There is heat inside the engine, which needs to be held at a moderate temperature to keep the engine performing well. But sometimes, you have a gap in which you can cover some extra miles to find a service station before reaching the maximum temperature level.

If the temperature level is rising but hasn’t reached the ½ portion of the temperature gauge, then you can keep on driving for an extra 15 to 20 miles, but if the needle is going more than half, then you must not take more time to stop.

How to control an overheating engine for extra miles?

The information in this guide revolves around the possibility of running your car with an overheated engine. We should tell you that you cannot drive your vehicle if the engine is overheated. You must call help to tow your car to a service station and inspect it for issues.

On the other hand, you must know how to keep your car in one piece if you have no choice but to drive. When you see the needle of the temperature gauge going up, do not turn off your engine or try to increase the speed of your car. Keep the vehicle at the same speed as before.

If the needle is still rising, you can pull over and check the coolant level. If the coolant level is low, fill the coolant level and throw some water on the bumper grill and radiator. It will most likely cool off the engine to some point. Drive again and keep your eye on the temperature gauge. If the temperature rises again, repeat the same process.

You can also turn the heater on, which will help you drain the engine’s heat effectively.