Looks like she's stuck on the side of the road somewhere as her car is overheating. If she had her cooling system checked, she could have left her McHenry home with confidence.

It’s summer in McHenry and you’re out for a nice drive. What could be better than this? Of course, the first sign you have that this day isn’t as idyllic as you expected is when you see white smoke drifting out around the hood of your car. This is a clue that something is wrong and, most likely, that something has to do with your cooling system.

Your car’s cooling system is essential to your vehicle. Any time you pull your car out of your McHenry driveway, you want that cooling system to operate at peak performance.

Most of the time, you don’t even have to think about the cooling system under the hood. It does its job silently, efficiently, and consistently. But, when it has a problem, it’s gonna let you know. Oh, boy, is it going to let you know.

If you see white smoke, actually steam, seeping out of the thin gaps around the hood, PULL OVER NOW!

If you continue driving when a car is overheating, you risk killing the engine. You can literally destroy the engine if the car is overheating.

One way to track the efficiency of your car’s cooling system is to watch for the white steam mentioned above. Unfortunately, by the time you see that white steam, you’re already in trouble.

To save the engine, you need to pull over. Now you’re stuck on the side of the highway. Hopefully, you have roadside service. Hopefully, your cell phone works.

There are several things that could cause your car to overheat. For instance:

• Your coolant is old and is no longer up to the job.
• You have a leak and don’t have enough coolant left to do the job.
• That leak could be in the radiator, one of the radiator or heater hoses, the water pump, or the heater core.
• Your thermostat is stuck and not allowing coolant to flow through the radiator and cool.
• The water pump is no longer pumping.
• The radiator is clogged and not allowing the coolant to flow through it sufficiently.
• The radiator fan isn’t operating.
• You’ve lost the belt that turns the water pump (on older cars, it might also turn the fan).

When your car is towed into a shop somewhere, they’ll examine the car and let you know what caused the problem. Hopefully, they won’t tell you that your engine is cooked and has to be replaced.

The alternative to waiting for a problem is to approach the issue proactively. This involves checking out your cooling system so you know that it’s in good shape. And if not, you can have it fixed so that it is in good shape.

If you maintain your car’s cooling system in good condition, something could still happen. It’s just far less likely. And you can leave your McHenry home with confidence that your car’s cooling system won’t interfere with that wonderful summer day.