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How do car thermostats work?
There is a puddle of something under my car every morning and my neighbor said that it has something to do with my thermostat. Is she right? How does the thermostat work?
Shannon Martin · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Your neighbor might be right. One of the signs of a faulty thermostat is a coolant leak which will create a green or orange puddle under your car. Here is how your thermostat should be working.
Your car’s thermostat responds to the changing temperature in the engine’s coolant. When the engine is hot, the thermostat valve opens and coolant is flushed through the engine to cool the car down.
When your vehicle is cold, the thermostat value stays shut, keeping the coolant in the radiator.
Signs of a faulty thermostat are:
- Pools of coolant under the car
- A drop in engine performance
- Reduced gas milage
- Car is over or under heating
Keeping a regular
maintenance schedule
is one way of catching a mechanical issue like this before it gets too bad. If you find that you are in need of a new thermostat, you can replace it yourself for around $100. A mechanic can do the work for around $300.With repair bills looming, saving some money on your
car insurance
will come in handy! By downloading the Jerry
app, you can start receiving competitive insurance quotes from 55+ insurance companies 45 seconds after you enter your information. Jerry customers save on average $800+ per year on car insurance, which will more than pay for your car repair bill!
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- Gregory R.
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Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.
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