my warning light came on saying "hot engine" "turn off engine" and it started dinging like I had the keys in the ignition with the door open

same thing happened to me after sitting in traffic. Only way home was to let it cool off and set the heater on hot and high and drove home. Needed new cooling fans/assembly. set of two from Suzuki was way high. Found way cheaper on internet. You can often use corresponding GM part way cheaper since XL7 was made in partnership with GM.

when driving was generally no problem. When car was sitting in stalled traffic was when overheating occurred. Hope this helps. Have had many issues with my XL7. Still like the car.