Did you know that your engine can be overheating with you even knowing it!
Yes, that's potentially true – and can have dire consequences.
Here's why, for a coolant sensor to be accurate, it must have coolant flowing past it. If you have a coolant leak or complete loss of coolant, your coolant temperature sensor and therefore gauge will not react properly.
In the winter there are often some simple signs that your coolant is low, particularly you often will notice that your heater is not blowing hot air.
But come summer, that little warning of no heat from your vents goes unnoticed, pair that with running the A/C which pumps even more heat into the engine, and you can have catastrophic engine failure come up faster than you realize.
Yes, some vehicle have coolant level sensors to warn you of low coolant level, but they don't always work reliably.
And with the abundance of plastic engine (and cooling system) components in use today, some age and time could be all it takes that lead to a cooling system failure that could leave you on the side of the road.
Here are some of the plastic cooling system components on Land Rovers:
Thermostat housings (the days of the thermostat being inside metal housings at the top of the intake manifold are long gone)
Coolant bleeder fittings and “T” fittings
Expansion tank
Expansion tank hoses
Radiator and heater hose ends (yes, most hoses that used to just use hose clamps onto the various fittings now are using plastic clip on ends!)
Radiator & Heater core side tanks
Water pump impellers (I haven't seen a plastic pump housing yet, but I won't be too surprised when I do)
A preventative maintenance inspection can lead to peace of mind on that next hot day, or road trip.