Last week I was out running errands and my temperature warning light came on – total panic! I pulled over and my car was overheating. After I waited for it to cool down, I went right into my Denver service center to have them take a look. My service adviser at Express Car Care told me my water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced. He said water pumps just wear out and that they need to be replaced, because they have the important task of pumping the coolant that cools the engine while it’s running.
He told me they checked out my radiator hoses, serpentine belt and tensioner and that they were fine, but I was overdue for changing my coolant – embarrassingly overdue. I didn’t realize there was a schedule in my owner’s manual for when to change my coolant. My Express Car Care service professional said that the coolant actually becomes corrosive over time and could damage my radiator, head gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, heater core, metal cooling pipes, expansion plugs,…the list goes on. That’s why they recommend changing the fluid on schedule.
So after they replaced the coolant with the kind my owner’s manual recommends and after learning a difficult lesson, I was on my way. It feels good knowing my cooling system is healthy now and I don’t need to worry about it. At least until my next scheduled coolant change.