Why is my car overheating?

Question

I have a 2000 hyundai elantra, and when i am driving in town with a bunch of red lights or have to stop a lot my car starts overheating. so i turn my heater on and right away the temp gauge drops down to normal. i looked around under the hood and didnt see any leaks

Answer 1

Your cooling fans might not be turning on.

When it gets hot, electric cooling fans should turn on. Next time the engine starts to get hot, pop the hood and see if the electrical cooling fans are turning on. If they aren't then try hitting the A/C button to turn on the Air conditioner compressor. Do the fans turn on now?

If they turn on when you hit the A/C button, your cooling FAN RELAY has gone out. The relay is a small electrical device that basically acts like a switch to turn on your cooling fans. (On most cars the A/C switch overrides the relay and forces the fans on.)

If hitting the A/C switch doesn't turn on the fans, then it's highly likely that the cooling fan motors are broken and you'll need to get new cooling fans.

Other possibilities include.
1. You are low on coolant. Check your coolant level in your radiator by opening the radiator cap WHEN ENGINE IS COOL!!!

2. Your radiator is just clogged up. You should do a radiator flush yearly to replace older coolant (which does wear out) with fresh coolant.

3. You're water pump is failing, which usually results in a loss of coolant, but the water pump is not circulating the fluid at a fast enough rate.

Answer 2

Try the small stuff first;
Check to make sure fan is working properly
Check or Replace Fan switch if fan not wrkin
Replace the radiator cap..
Replace the thermostat..

.

Answer 3

Could be your Thermostat. How about Coolant?

Answer 4

radiator fan relay or the fan itself is crap.

Answer 5

i had a car do this to me and it was the thermistat!!