2015 Hyundai Elantra overheating

569
Driving your vehicle
Driving on hills
Reduce speed and shift to a lower
gear before you start down a long or
steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your
brakes so much that they would get
overheated and may not operate effi-
ciently.
On a long uphill grade, shift down
and reduce your speed to around 70
km/h to reduce the possibility of
engine and transaxle overheating.
If your trailer weighs more than the
maximum trailer weight without trail-
er brakes and you have an automat-
ic transaxle, you should drive in D
(Drive) when towing a trailer.
Operating your vehicle in D (Drive)
when towing a trailer will minimise
heat build-up and extend the life of
your transaxle.
Parking on hills
Generally, if you have a trailer
attached to your vehicle, you should
not park your vehicle on a hill.
However, if you ever have to park
your trailer on a hill, here's how to do
it:
1.Pull the vehicle into the parking
space.
Turn the steering wheel in the
direction of the kerb.
2.Shift the vehicle to P (Park, for
automatic transaxle vehicle) or
neutral (for manual transaxle vehi-
cle).
3.Set the parking brake and turn off
the vehicle.
4.Place wheel chocks under the trail-
er wheels on the down hill side of
the wheels.
5.Start the vehicle, hold the brakes,
shift to neutral, release the parking
brake and slowly release the
brakes until the trailer chocks
absorb the load.CAUTION
To prevent engine and/or
transaxle overheating:
• When towing a trailer on steep
grades (in excess of 6%) pay
close attention to the engine
coolant temperature gauge to
ensure the engine does not
overheat. If the needle of the
coolant temperature gauge
moves towards “H” (HOT), pull
over and stop as soon as it is
safe to do so, and allow the
engine to idle until it cools
down. You may proceed once
the engine has cooled suffi-
ciently.
• You must decide your vehicle
speed according to trailer
weight and uphill grade.

571
Driving your vehicle
CAUTION
To prevent vehicle damage:
• Due to higher load during
trailer usage, overheating
might occur on hot days or
during uphill driving. If the
coolant gauge indicates over-
heating, switch off the air con-
ditioner and stop the vehicle
in a safe area to cool down the
engine.
• When towing check automatic
transaxle fluid more frequently.

If your temperature gauge indicates
overheating, you experience a loss
of power, or hear loud pinging or
knocking, the engine may be over-
heating. If this happens, you should:
1.Pull off the road and stop as soon
as it is safe to do so.
2.Place the shift lever in P (Park, for
automatic transaxle vehicle) or
neutral (for manual transaxle vehi-
cle) and set the parking brake. If
the air conditioning is ON, turn it
OFF.
3.If engine coolant is running out
under the vehicle or steam is com-
ing out from the bonnet, stop the
engine. Do not open the bonnet
until the coolant has stopped run-
ning or the steaming has stopped.
If there is no visible loss of engine
coolant and no steam, leave the
engine running and check to be
sure the engine cooling fan is oper-
ating. If the fan is not running, turn
the engine off.4.Check for coolant leaking from the
radiator, hoses or under the vehi-
cle. (If the air conditioning had
been in use, it is normal for cold
water to be draining from it when
you stop.)
5.If engine coolant is leaking out,
stop the engine immediately and
we recommend that you call an
authorised HYUNDAI dealer for
assistance.
IF THE ENGINE OVERHEATS
What to do in an emergency
8 6
WARNING
Whilst the engine is
running, keep hands,
clothing and tools
away from the moving
parts such as the
cooling fan and drive
belt to prevent seri-
ous injury.
WARNING
NEVER remove the
radiator cap or the
drain plug whilst the
engine and radiator
are hot. Hot coolant
and steam may blow out under
pressure, causing serious
injury.
Turn the engine off and wait
until the engine cools down.
Use extreme care when remov-
ing the radiator cap. Wrap a
thick towel around it, and turn it
anticlockwise slowly to the first
stop. Step back whilst the pres-
sure is released from the cool-
ing system. When you are sure
all the pressure has been
released, press down on the
cap, using a thick towel, and
continue turning anticlockwise
to remove it.

6.If you cannot find the cause of the
overheating, wait until the engine
temperature has returned to nor-
mal. Then, if coolant has been lost,
carefully add coolant to the reser-
voir to bring the fluid level in the
reservoir up to the halfway mark.
7.Proceed with caution, keeping
alert for further signs of overheat-
ing. If overheating happens again,
we recommend that you call an
authorised HYUNDAI dealer for
assistance.
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What to do in an emergency
CAUTION
• Serious loss of coolant indi-
cates a leak in the cooling
system and we recommend
the system be checked by an
authorised HYUNDAI dealer.
• When the engine overheats
from low engine coolant, sud-
denly adding engine coolant
may cause cracks in the
engine. To prevent damage,
add engine coolant slowly in
small quantities.