DRIVING WITH THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE
ON HOT OR THE LIGHT ILLUMINATED
You’re driving on a country road out in the middle of nowhere when you notice
that your temperature gauge is buried in the “hot” zone. Rather than stop and call
a tow truck, you keep driving, hoping you can make it to a repair shop. The
engine overheats, coolant spews out of the overflow tank, and the engine gets so
hot it stalls. You have to call a tow truck anyway. The shop tells you your
engine’s got a blown head gasket and cracked cylinder head. The cause? A $12
thermostat. The repair would have cost you $12 plus the cost of installation and
coolant and the cost of a tow job (unless you have AAA or the equivalent).
Instead you end up with an $800 repair bill because you were too stubborn to
call a tow truck. Many a good vehicle has been undone because of this mistake.