I have a 2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette that started to overheat yesterday. Was on the red, and the red light on the dash had just turned on. I pulled off to the side of the road, turned the car off and let it sit a few minutes. Turned it back on, and drove further than the first time to get a scheduled oil change and no more overheating problems for that drive. Had them check my radiator fluid and they said it was fine. Car sat the rest of the day, and went out in the evening - car started to overheat, (past 3/4) and I started revving it, and it cooled off on it’s own, and remained cool the rest of the evening. This morning, it’s doing the same thing again. Begins to over heat, so I turned it off. Turn it back on, and it’s fine. Had new head gaskets put in, in 2009 at about 90,000 but aside from that and some wheel work, that’s all I know that’s been an issue since I purchased it in 2006.
The overheating might be caused by a sticking thermostat.
Swap out the thermostat and see if that fixes the problem.
Tester
"Had new head gaskets put in, in 2009 at about 90,000… "
Was that done for overheating?
Yes it was done for overheating but no problems since then.
My daughter had three head gaskets fail on a Cavalier at 50K intervals. Odd, intermittent overheating problems most of the time lead to the head gasket.
Ask your shop to make sure the radiator fans are working correctly, esp if the overheating occurs in city-type driving. I had a problem w/my Corolla overheating in that situation one time and it was the coolant temp switch which controlled the radiator fan.
If it overheats while driving down the freeway at speed, the thermostat and the radiator cap would be the first places to start. I expect you know this could be a repeat of the head gasket problem, but start with the simple things first.
Edit: Remember that you can cool the engine somewhat by turning on the heater full hot and the heater fan to max. The heater is a mini-radiator that way.
The sensors can go bad too.
Well note to everyone, don’t use the high heat,it makes cooling system grow hotter, use cold air it makes it cool down faster.
But I too have a 2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette van overheating again, I’m looking into it.