Q: Car recently started overheating gauge reading 260+
With temperatures over 90 the other day, and the A/C on and driving up hills, my car overheated. I'm wondering what could be the cause. I drove it about 40 minutes to work this morning and it didn't overheat but the temperature gauge indicated a higher temperature than normal. I'm guessing radiator maybe?
My car has 182000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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You can check a couple of things. I believe it is the fan that went out but, if your fan is working, I would check the hoses while the car is at operating temperature and to see if the hoses are tight. If for some reason they are, then your thermostat is bad. If they are not and you car is still overheating it is likely due to your water pump. If you would like to have this scoped out in person, a qualified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to diagnose the overheating problem and assist with repairs.
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