Steam coming out of the hood, engine light comes on, whats wrong?

Question

I have a 2001 dodge neon with 120,000 miles on it.

The other day the engine light came on. When I start the car, the needle is by the 'C' but after a few minutes is gradually moves up to the red area by the 'H'. Then it bubbles inside and steam comes out of the hood.

My friend put new oil in it and filled up the plastic container thing inside the hood with water (sorry I know nothing about cars). This helped for a little bit but an hour or so later it was doing the same thing.

I'm going to bring it to a mechanic tomorrow, but what do you think might be wrong with it? Is this a costly repair?

Answer 1

Take it to a shop as soon as you can.  Running the engine hot may lead to total failure.  You may have a bad water pump, just low on water, plugged radiator, bad fan motor on the radiator, blown head gasket, etc.

The important thing is to get it looked at by a professional before you destroy the engine.  Plus now, the car is not reliable.

good luck with it.

Answer 2

first adding water to your coolant sytem isnt all that good, should be antifreeze or coolant. not water. water cannot pull the heat from your engine properly so the engine can cool.

i would say based on what little info you have, its a coolant issue. ether your thermostat is clogged or bad, and needs replaced. part itslef is $5 and most pple can do it themselves with some tools. dunno bout what a mechanic would charge.

next if that thermostat is good, i would go with water pump or a loose belt. hear any squealing when u accelrate? or when idleing?? loose belt and your engine cant pump the coolant thro the engine to keep it cool, hence the temp jumps after a few mins.

last the steam.. if your getting steam from under hood, its leaking or  coming from somewhere. steam is made from water and heat.

you may have a leak. i would bring it to a garage and have the ESTIMATE what is wrong price etc. then make your move from there..

that way you know what is going on.. and can save yourslef $$ and possible headaches..

Answer 3

sounds like you coolant may be leaking somewhere. if it gets to the H driving to the mechanic stop driving and get it towed cause if it overheats, your engine will seize up and your going to have to buy a new engine and possibly a transmission. But dont use water, go to murrays or autozone and buy a gallon of premixed coolant and fill you car up with that in the radiator (take off the radiator cap and fill it there first and make sure its completly on or it will boil out, and fill the overflow tank to the top). Its worth the $5.

Answer 4

Hummm... could be anything from a leaking hose to a blown head gasket, seek a reliable shop for a diagnosis and estimate of repair. If you are not comfortable with the first recommendation and estimate take it to at least one more shop for a second or third opinion.  

Answer 5

It sounds like you have a leak in your radiator cooling system (causing steam). This could be either a simple and cheap or a costly problem. If you have to drive make sure it is full of coolant (the plastic container) and if it overheats again, you can turn the heat on inside your car and that will help the engine to stay cool. Ultimately you need to drive it as little as possible until a professional looks at it.  

Answer 6

those cars are famous for bad head gaskets

Answer 7

This may not be abled to be fixed.  Its pretty old.

Answer 8

sounds like it's over heating so it might be you're radiator that's over heating.