Auto Talk 101: Dealing with an Overheated Car - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. If your car starts to overheat, you need to turn it off immediately or as immediately as you can safely get to the side of the road. Obviously we do not want anyone to get in an accident, but a severe overheat can ruin your car's engine in just a matter of a minute or so. So you want to get over to the side of the road and get the car turned off right away. You can open the hood to get a little fresh air circulation in there to help start to cool it down. Do not touch the radiator, it will be really hot. Do not try to open it, you could potentially get badly burned. But you do not want to drive with an overheating car because you can very quickly blow your head gasket or damage your engine. It is a very expensive mistake. A lot of people think, 'Oh I can make it to the next exit,' or you know 'It is only three miles to home,' but that three miles can make a difference. Turn it off, and let it cool down.