Car running hot? Coolant leaking? Pull over and call me — don't drive it another kilometre.
An overheating engine is one of the few car problems where driving on it can turn a $300 repair into a $3,000 one. Every minute you drive a hot engine, you risk a blown head gasket or warped cylinder head. The right move is to stop immediately and call me.
I come to wherever you pulled over, diagnose the cause — not just the symptom — and fix it there. Most cooling system failures are fixable on-site.
Stuck closed causes overheating fast. Stuck open and the engine never reaches proper temp, which kills fuel economy and causes excess wear. Quick replacement on most vehicles.
$150–$300Cracked, leaking, or internally clogged — replaced on-site. GM Dexcool coolant (the orange stuff) is notorious for sludging up radiators if it goes too long without a flush. I've cleaned out some disasters.
$300–$700Leaking weep hole or seized impeller means no coolant flow. Chrysler 3.6L Pentastar water pumps fail earlier than they should — I've replaced plenty. Done and bled properly on-site.
$300–$600Upper, lower, and heater hoses. Cracked or soft and swollen hoses are pre-failure — they go suddenly, without warning. I replace proactively when I see them looking rough.
$100–$250Leaking heater core flooding your passenger floor? I can bypass it to stop the leak and get you driving while you decide on next steps. Not a permanent fix but it works.
$150–$300Old coolant loses its corrosion protection and raises the boiling point threshold. Full drain, flush, and refill with the correct spec coolant for your vehicle — not the wrong colour.
$100–$180If your car is overheating, driving it anywhere is the wrong call. Mobile repair is the right option — I come to where you stopped and fix it without you adding more heat damage to the engine.
The number one mistake I see is people topping up the coolant with water and driving on it for weeks. Water without coolant lowers the boiling point, reduces corrosion protection, and in winter it can freeze and crack the block. Use the right coolant — the colour matters for some vehicles.
GM Dexcool (orange coolant) in older GM trucks and SUVs: if it wasn't flushed on schedule, it turns into a rust-coloured sludge that blocks radiators and water pumps. I've opened radiators on GM trucks that looked like tomato soup inside. Chrysler 3.6L Pentastar water pumps — they use a plastic impeller that deteriorates. If you have a Dodge Caravan, Journey, or Chrysler 300 with this engine past 120,000 km, ask me about it. Subaru flat-four head gaskets are a known issue — if you're overheating on a Subaru and there's no obvious leak, get it tested before assuming it's something cheap.
If the engine got hot enough to make steam: let it cool completely before adding any fluid. Adding cold coolant to a hot engine can warp the head. Wait at least an hour.
Pull over and call me. I'll come to you before the engine takes real damage. Available 24/7 across the GTA.