why is my pt cruiser overheating.water bubbling and shooting all the water back to the resorvor and dump it out in the over.

You might have to do a "block flush" whereby all the drains are opened and the freeze plugs popped out...a BLAST of air/water is forced through the engine hopefully carrying the RUST that's choking the coolant from flowing properly...the freeze plugs will be NEW now and NOT using nasty acids and so forth (perhaps a little soap) to try to erase the damage done when it was topped off with hose water sometime in the past...because someone decided to just let it go and then the corrosion happened before it was too late to put the necessary 50/50 mix...with any luck this "block flush" will put you right...the engine is wasted...there is nothing else that we can do~

Ok first things first, did the car overheat a couple of times prior to this? If yes a head gasket may be in order, the 02 2.4 twin cams had a recall on them early on the head bolts would heat and stretch allowing coolant, oil, or exaust gas to enter cooling system creating the very condition you are describing. All one or two of these symptoms may be present oil on top rear of transmission, steam or high pressure in tank a sign that it may be time to fix the head gasket. Ok so when the car is cold top up coolant leave coolant cap off DO NOT DRIVE let it idle if yoy have steam or bubbles instantly the steam or vapor will have a burned fuel/exaust smell then there it is. Should you need a head neon and caravan 2.4 use the same head. You CANT use a 2.0 head. Must be a twin cam. Head bolts are torque to yeild meaning one time use.

Put a new radiator cap on it and be done with it. Water boils at 212 degF at normal atmosphere (pressure) If the cap does not maintain the right pressure, about 16-18psi then your system will boil off.

I had the same problem. Got a $6 radiator cap from autozone and BAM! No more bubbling! (Knock on wood) It's been a couple days and I've been driving it. So thanks everyone

What we found was leaves and trash in the bottom one third of the radiator. Since the A/C Condenser and Transmission Cooler make up the front part of the radiator assembly. And the Water part of the radiator for the engine is the back half (( closest to the engine )) .... Trash, Gunk and Leaves had accumulated between the two parts. The bottom one third of the radiator was so clogged that no air could pass through the cooling fins. We hope this has been helpful......

Well Hi my prob is changed the cap and the t-stat, flush with flush + cleaner, Fan is new (prob started this) now bottom hose is cool to the touch but top is blowing it out the cap into the res. Haven't checked the radiator or pump.

Have you checked between the A/C Condenser and the Radiator? Our Mechanic said that we needed New Head Gasket, Water Pump and Timing Belt with Tensioner and Idler Pulley while he was in there. Cost was quoted at over $2,800.00 ..... It was acting Exactly as you describe. I found Leaves, Dirt and Crap, built up on the bottom half of the Radiator. There is No Way to tell if this is your problem until you physically Separate the A/C Condenser and Radiator and have a look in the middle, at the bottom 1/2 to 1/3 of the Radiator. We have had Dozens of Private Messages from folks, Thanking us for this advise and telling me that this Was their problem. Since the Car had 88,000 miles on it when we got it from The Mother in Law, we did have the Timing Belt and Water Pump changed a Month later as regular maintenance. The Timing Belt being changed at 90,000 mile intervals is Critical. If it fails, every valve in the engine will be bent or broken. And that is a very expensive repair, when proper and scheduled changing of the Timing Belt is not that bad. Our 2003 PT Cruiser, has been Garage kept and is in Excellent Shape. We are really enjoying it after getting the Over Heating issue fixed. We hope that this has helped you out. Best Wishes and Regards from Wade & Brenda.

Hi my pt was lusing water from the header tank I changed the thermostat and toped up with water after getting to normal temp I tuck it for drive temp semed ok but speedo kept jumping up down and the car keped cuting out soe I got back home and let it cool of went back out and checked the header tank and the coulant was ok leval started the car after about 10 12 mins car started to get hot and the water was boiling like a kettle and water presure was coming out of radiator cap and the pipe to header tank

Why is my pt cruiser 2001 Chrysler overheating

PT Cruisers are particular with the kind of coolant you use. Either use the Mopar brand or the Zerex G05. I guarantee that will solve most of your problems. If you added another kind, you will need to flush it and use the proper coolant. Don't just buy and add the coolant, flush whatever is in there.

I don't have an answer, because our PT Cruiser can't stay out of the repair shop for the over heating. We have had the head gasket changed, thermostat changed, on and on and it is still bubbling and over heating. Please give us some additional ideas.

You need to get rid of the air in the water circuit through the vent valve located under the thermostat.

Two days ago my 2008 pt cruiser started overheating. Everytime I stopped at a red light it would over heat, but weirdly enough it would seem fine earlier I put my hand to see if the fan was running and sometimes it would I changed the relays Changed the fan .. no help Finally took to mechanic to find out it is sensor So I hope this helps me and anyone else out there with the same problem

My 2001 PT having same problems as all of the above, my radiator cap d not sit properly on the thermostat housing, was wobbly and loose. cut a gasket and put on cap. i did a pressure test everything looked good installed cap started engine, no more water lost.

Sounds like seeping from your head gasket your block is castiron iron and your head is aluminum they cool at different temps witch causes seeping easy fix blue devil head gasket sealent follow the directions

Have a pt cruiser. Have changed rad cap,thermostat, hoses and it holds pressure . Coolant flos to overflow but don't flo back to rad. It will overheat if I drive for a few hours in highway

Hello I got my pt cruser in November I'm broke but it's running hot so I'm going put it in the shop I pray it the rat or it's hard I need my car I'll be back to tell u all something a men told me.he said please don't play with it when it running​ hot jump on it please.he lost him car like that he said.

I think the best thing to do is get rid of the pt cruisers. they all are crap and so is chrysler.

My daughters PT Cruiser ran great for 40,000 miles - until just recently. It also has the mysterious, unsolvable overheating issue .. which it got "infected" with after a recent timing belt/water pump replacement. Mechanic took a second look and said his work was good on the replacements. No leaking head gasket, installed new rad cap, new thermostat, coolant flush, new engine coolant temp sensor, continuous air bleeds, pressure test on coolant system, coolant is circulating,etc. The only thing I haven't done is a radiator replacement, but I don't think that's the problem based on my experience. I paid $900 for this car, and $1,000 to have timing belt/water pump replaced. I think I've reached my limit on how much money I'll keep putting into this car. Not even going to spend another $150 on a new radiator. Fixing to trade it in a new car for my wife, and put an end to this on- going torture.

I came here to try to find a problem for the overheating...mechanics cannot find anything wrong?? I've reached the point of getting rid of my PT. Have had to replace motor mounts several times, control arms and bushings, cv shafts, stat, gaskets, housing gasket, the same overheating issue that others are having. I have sunk more money into this car than any other cars I have owned (Chevy, Ford). I will let my mechanic know about the bleeder valve though. Maybe I can get one more trip to CO to cruise the rockies with other PT owners.

What sensor was it? My pt cruiser is doing the same thing and I have changed the radiator the fan the thermostat and still heating up

ok guys my name is hector i bearly got a pt cruiser for work but at first it was heating up and then i fixed the fans beacuse it wasnt working then still heating up so i flushed the radiator and changed the thermalstat and still was getting hot so i flushed everything so now its not heating on me buuuuttttt!!!!! some dumb butt added more oil then it needs when i was coming to work the car felt slow and stared smoking and it started going slow you think that the car is messed up or it can be fixed????

I changed the radiator in my 2002 pt cruiser it was not running hot until now, gage go up to hot an then come all the way back to cool help

Make sure you check cooling fan mine went bad & when ac is on it should come on if sitting still. Replaced fan & problem gone. I also change antifreeze every 6 yrs it loses it efficiently.

I'm going to answer this with pretty good certainty. If you do anything to the cooling system, INCLUDING adding antifreeze, YOU MUST follow the proper procedures for bleeding the air out of the cooling system. If you don't, air will expand in the engine and backflow into the reservoir. When you turn the engine off and hear a gurgling sound, there is air in your system. If you don't bleed it out, your engine will continue to overheat and if the air pocket is big enough, it will eventually blow the head gasket. There are plenty of good Youtube videos that show exactly, step by step, how to do this.

I’m a certified Master Auto Technician of 26 years. The reason the PT Cruiser 2.4l has so many overheating issues is due to the air trapped in the water jackets. These cars are a pain in the rear, however this can be fixed simply by following the coolant bleed procedure. There is a bleeder screw located on the bottom of the filler neck housing. When filling the coolant system this screw needs to be removed and the over flow tube clamped off.. you can put a 1/4 inch rubber hose on the screw if you don’t want to make a mess. With the screw out or loose begin filling the system with the proper coolant slowly. This will allow the trapped air to be pushed out through the open bleeder screw. When the system is full and all the air is out you will get a steady flow of coolant coming out of the bleeder screw, no air. At this point you can tighten the bleeder and unclamp the hose. Leave the cap off and start the vehicle. Turn the heat on full blast. Now go back to the radiator with the car running and top it off as needed. Put the radiator cap back on. Make sure it’s tight. Fill the reservoir to the FULL HOT line and let the vehicle idle until it reaches operational temperature. Shut the vehicle off and let it cool down COMPLETELY. You may notice that after cooling down COMPLETELY the coolant in the reservoir is low. Fill it to the FULL HOT line. You may have to repeat this process three or four times. Now provided that the radiator, cooling fans, thermostat and head gasket are OK this is all you’ll have to do. Unfortunately maybe three or four times. Like I said in the beginning these cars are a pain in the butt. Good luck and whatever you do DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN IT IS HOT!!! You WILL get burnt. Have fun and be safe. Good luck