Your radiator is an easy thing to forget about. Everyone notices the grille, but most drivers don’t think about what goes on behind it. Without a radiator, your car’s engine would quickly overheat. This can cause serious and expensive damage to the engine block, the cylinders, and other vital components. As your Lexus dealer, we’d like to give you some tips on signs that you need a radiator repair.
Coolant Leak
Your radiator cools your engine, but for it to work the dangerous heat in the engine has to be brought to it. This is where the coolant comes in. Coolant is a mix of antifreeze and water, and it circulates through your engine ad absorbs the heat. The now-hot coolant is pumped into the radiator to be cooled. The cooling system operates under pressure and at high speed to control the engine temperature.
The coolant is pink, green, or yellow, and if you find a pool of this liquid underneath your car there must be a leak. The cooling system is a closed-loop, so the only way coolant can escape is if there is some damage in the system. We advise calling our service department right away if you have a coolant leak, as a lack of coolant can cause heat damage to your engine.
Broken Waterpump
When your engine temperature rises over 185F, coolant is released and will flow through your engine to absorb the heat. The coolant is pumped under pressure to allow it to effectively and quickly reduce your engine’s temperature. The water pump is responsible for pumping coolant throughout the system. If the water pump fails, coolant will not be circulated through your engine.
The coolant can only work if it can move through the cooling system to absorb the engine’s heat. Without a working pump, your engine temperature will very quickly rise. A broken water pump can’t be repaired, but our technicians can quickly replace it with a new OEM one, which will solve the problem.
Damaged Heater Core
The heater core looks like a mini radiator, and it functions similarly. The hot coolant is pumped into the heater core, but unlike the radiator, the heat is pumped into your car rather than blown out. The reason for this is the heater core provides hot air when you turn on the cabin heater. A heater is less susceptible to damage, as it’s located in the passenger cabin section, but it can still suffer wear.
If you turn on the heating on a cold day, and you get a gust of cool rather than hot air, your heater core is damaged. We can replace the heater core, and winter days will become much warmer when you drive in your Lexus.
An easy way to watch for a radiator problem is to keep an eye on your engine temperature gauge. If the gauge starts to climb, call our service department right away at Lexus of Wilmington.
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