Back in my gas jockey days, I would occasionally lift a hood to find that somebody’s radiator was doing a slow boil, with steam wafting from the radiator cap. In each case, when I pointed out the loose cap, the car’s owner told me something along the lines of… If you tighten the radiator cap, pressure builds up!
Ummmm… yeah… as it was designed to do…
It seemed that all of these people were from the Deep South, so perhaps this was a superstition/Old Wives Tale that was specific to that region.
I had an uncle who got agitated when I squeezed the radiator hoses on his car to see what shape they were in.
He thought that would damage them.
Then there’s one of my sisters-in-law.
After a short highway run in very hot weather she opened the hood and poured a pitcher of ice cold water over the radiator and cracked the top plastic tank.
Believe it or not the rad hose squeezing actually holds some water…while it could simultaneously spring leaks.
Seems to me rubber has improved over the years and doesn’t seem to degrade like in years past, but I’ve squeezed some hoses that cracked like they were made out of thin plastic…and poof…a nice leak.
Sprung a coolant leak in the middle for nowhere, If there was no pressure there was no coolant loss, I think it was about 300 miles until I made it to a city big enough to have a parts store, maybe they had a similar reason for leaving the pressure cap loose.
Except without the pressure the water can be boiling at normal operating temp range and likely cavitating in the pump. Cavitation = no coolant circulation = potential fried engine.
That is what the Button is for. You do not tap the brake when driving unless you are coming to a stop. If you can deactivate the Cruise control tapping the brake good chance you are activating the brake lights for that little bit too . Sorry to tell your Husband Dinner is on him.
@JanetGruwell The car owner’s manual has the manufacturer’s instructions for the use of the car’s cruise control. Reading those instructions specific to your car will be instructive. While you have the manual out, now would be a good time to read the entire contents.
Sorry to disagree. My original answer, “six of one, half a dozen of the other,” stands. In my case, when I’m using cruise control my foot is hovering over the brake pedal so it’s already in position. Plus, if I need to disable cruise control it’s because I need to slow down, right? If I’m going to slow down I probably need to brake. And if I need to brake why not let the guy behind me know? Nobody except my wife (I’m thinking of an incident several years ago on the turnpike in Oklahoma) is going to freak out if they see brake lights for a split second.
If I’m on the freeway, and see a general slowdown, or just heavier traffic, ahead, I’ll hit the switch. If it’s just something that would have me let off the gas a little, no need for a brake tap.