Q: My car ran hot and now it won't start

Hi there. An overheated engine is not a good thing. A severely overheated engine could mean catastrophic damage has occurred. Assuming the engine does not turn over, this would lead me to believe the engine has seized or the head gasket has blown. Adding cold water to a hot engine could have facilitated a head gasket failure and now the engine is hydrostatically locked. If the engine does turn over would be encouraging.

Any number of electrical components could have failed due to high under hood temperatures. Accessing the vehicle ECM (engine control module)/computer for trouble codes may help direct the diagnoses. Possibly the CKP (crankshaft position sensor has failed. Replacing components without diagnoses could prove to be expensive and time consuming without resolution. I recommend having your vehicle’s no start be diagnosed and repaired by a certified technician, such as one from YourMechanic.