What does this cost in your state?
California is the costliest state and Arkansas the cheapest; each square shows that state's midpoint of the estimate.
Lower-cost states ($360)MiddleHigher-cost states ($458)
What it shows: CA is the highest at $458 and AR the lowest at $360, across 51 states.
Counts below are complaints filed with NHTSA, not failure rates: a longer bar means more owners reported it.
Is your car affected?
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is 50,000-100,000 (46%). The biggest difference from all complaints is under 50,000: 24% against 60%.
What it shows: The most common band for complaints about this repair is 6-9 years (51%), against 23% for all complaints: the biggest difference between the two.
Which trouble codes do owners report?
P0302 Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected leads at 16.
The code owners quote most is P0302. Read your own code from a scan and give the shop the exact code, not only "the light is on".
What do owners say it led to?
Among the 4,071 owner complaints naming this part, owners most often say engine damage followed.
What owners say happened after the problem. Engine damage: 325 (8%); Loss of power: 172 (4%); Stalled while driving: 26 (1%).
If your car shows the signs above, get it checked before it gets as far as engine damage.
Which other parts do owners name in the same complaint?
Among the 4,071 owner complaints naming this part, head gasket is named in 12% of them, more than any other part.
Owners name the head gasket most often in the same complaint, which is not proof that one caused the other. Ask the shop whether it checked the head gasket too, so you are not quoted twice for one visit.
What did owners say they paid?
Half of the 26 owners who wrote a dollar amount gave $2,000 or less; one in ten wrote more than $9,000.
These are bills owners wrote down, often covering more than this one repair. They show how far a job can run; get written quotes for your own car.
How fast were owners driving when it happened?
55 mph or faster leads at 43%.
Owners reported it most often at highway speed. Tell the shop what speed it happens at, because that narrows the diagnosis.
How serious did it get for owners?
Among the 4,071 owner complaints naming this part, being towed is the outcome owners report most often.
What it shows: Towed is the largest at 285, followed by Fire reported at 75; the smallest shown is Death reported at 1.
Which model years show up most in the complaints?
Among the 4,071 owner complaints naming this part that state a model year, complaints cluster in a few model years instead of spreading evenly.
What it shows: 2017 is the largest at 871 (21%), followed by 2015 at 421 (10%); the smallest shown is 2025 at 35 (1%).
Has this part been recalled abroad on cars that may share it?
Manufacturers filed 19 foreign recall campaigns that name overheating with NHTSA since 2015 (matched by the filing text); the latest, from Toyota Motor Corporation in 2026-02.
| Filed | Manufacturer | Foreign recall no. | What the filing says |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09 | Jaguar Land Rover | 219 | Overheating may occur if the vehicle is in use for an extended period, due to a manufacturing error resulting in missing thermal interface material which normally allows the components to dissipate heat In |
| 2025-11 | Porsche Cars. | 207 | November 24, 2025 Subject: Notification of Recall Pursuant to 49 CFR Part 579.11 (a) Defect may be present in the cell modules of the 48Ah High Voltage Battery, which could result in overheating during charging. |
| 2021-07 | Mercedes-Benz | 176 | This might impair the functionality of the coolant pump, which might lead to an overheating of the engine. |
| 2022-10 | Volvo Car | 174 | Volvo Cars investigations has identified a potential issue with the high-voltage battery due to a manufacturing error that could potentially lead to overheating of the battery cells when the battery is fully charged. |
| 2025-08 | Jaguar Land Rover | 126 | Sincerely, jacob azria jaguar land rover north america, llc attachment -1- attachment global recall process report of field action manufacturer jaguar land rover limited type of action safety recall field action number tbd subject power take-off unit. |
| 2022-06 | BMW of | 092 | In rare cases, this could lead to overheating of the starter and, 3. |
| 2024-02 | Hino Motors Sales U.S.A. | 029 | If a final-stage manufacturer or vehicle operator fails to properly connect or tighten the positive or negative battery cables, this may result in a ground loop causing unintended currents that may cause overheating or damage to the ground wire of the. |
| 2026-02 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 020 | If this occurs, the coolant level may drop enough to cause both the coolant and engine temperatures to rise sufficiently to trigger the high coolant temperature warning light and engine overheating. |
Which counties get the weather that wears this part?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Tulsa County, OK, Shelby County, TN and Maricopa County, AZ highest for heat waves, about 26.26 events a year, against 5.39 in the median county. Heat waves push cooling systems toward overheating.
What it shows: Tulsa County, OK is the largest at 26.26, followed by Shelby County, TN at 21.74; the smallest shown is Oklahoma County, OK at 18.16.
Has the maker published a fix?
A bulletin is a repair procedure a maker sends its dealers, not a safety defect: if your maker is listed, ask the dealer whether one covers your car and quote its number.
| Maker | Vehicles | Bulletin number | Date | What it says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAM | 3500 2026–2027; 2500 2026–2027 | 07-006-26 REV. A | Sep 1, 2026 | Engine Overheat Customers may comment on the following: SYMPTOM: Vehicle overheating. |
| Honda | Accord 2018–2022 | A26-003 | Aug 26, 2026 | Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored. |
| RAM | 3500 2026–2027; 2500 2026–2027 | 07-006-26 | Aug 21, 2026 | Engine Overheat Customers may comment on the following: Vehicle overheating. |
| Chrysler | Pacifica 2026; Voyager 2026 | 07-003-26 | Jun 30, 2026 | Coolant Leak at Right Rear of Vehicle Customers may comment on one or more of the following: SYMPTOM: "Engine Overheat" message is displayed on the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC). |
| Chrysler | Voyager 2023–2026; Pacifica 2023–2026 and 1 more | S2607000005 | Jun 26, 2026 | Vehicle leaking coolant. |
| Jeep | Wagoneer 2022–2024; Grand Wagoneer 2022–2024 | 09-006-25 REV. A | Oct 7, 2025 | Engine Overheating Customers may experience the following: Engine overheating with "Engine Overheated" message in the Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC). |
45 more bulletins name this part; the car finder at the top checks yours, and the NHTSA bulletin file linked below lists them all.
What do owners say?
4 complaints quoted word for word, each with its NHTSA number.
The Mazda dealership and Mazda USA informed me that I will have to pay $7,800.00 to have the car fixed, which is ridiculous, but the more serious part is that the car did not gave me any warnings, lights, overheating nothing.
We got the car back December 31, 2022 with the "new/used" engine and that night the engine overheated and had to be towed back to the dealer that did the repairs costing almost $10K.
Paid $2,000 to repair and a week later my check engine light came on and now my car is overheating.
My father-in-law tried to have the current recall for the overheating catalytic converter, however our local Kia dealership refused the repair saying the car didn't qualify for the recall, and instead tried to charge $1400 to complete the repair.
Check your car
Our calculator's default estimate is $294–$534, which is a thermostat replacement. Overheating is a symptom, not a repair, so the real price depends on which cooling part failed: it runs from $176–$306 for a coolant flush to $1,960–$3,560 for a head gasket.
What does the overheating repair price cover?
The estimate covers the part and the labor to fit it, for one named cooling-system repair. The default is a thermostat, the small valve that decides when coolant flows to the radiator. It is the cheapest common cause and the one most often replaced first.
The estimate leaves out the diagnosis fee some shops charge to find the fault, taxes, and any damage the overheating already caused. It also does not cover a second failed part found once the first is replaced.
How much does each fix cost?
Here are the calculator's ranges for the repair types it prices, using a midsize car at a typical shop.
| Repair | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Coolant flush / refill | $176–$306 |
| Thermostat (default) | $294–$534 |
| Water pump | $636–$1,296 |
| Radiator replacement | $588–$1,368 |
| Head gasket | $1,960–$3,560 |
Shop and vehicle class change the default thermostat job less. An independent shop (about $100/hr) is $270–$495 and a dealership (about $175/hr) is $360–$641. An economy car is $264–$474, an SUV or truck $339–$624 and a luxury or performance car $399–$744.
How urgent is it?
A temperature gauge in the red or a hot-engine warning is urgent. Pull over somewhere safe and shut the engine off rather than driving on to the next exit. Do not open a hot radiator cap.
If the car only runs warm in traffic, or you notice a sweet smell or low coolant, you have a little more time, but not weeks. Top up the coolant once the engine is cool and book a pressure test. A cheap fix left too long can become the expensive one, because a car driven hot can warp parts that were fine.
How do I get a fair quote?
Ask the shop which part failed and how they know. A pressure test or a thermostat check is a reasonable answer, a guess is not. Request parts and labor on separate lines and ask whether the price includes a coolant refill, since most of these jobs need one.
Then get a second quote for the same named repair. If one shop quotes a head gasket and another a thermostat for the same symptom, ask the first to show you the test result before you pay for the bigger job.
What does the estimate leave out?
It is a range for a typical car, not a quote for yours. Engines where the water pump sits behind the timing belt cost more in labor, and some luxury cars need pricier parts. Taxes, shop fees and a diagnosis charge are not included.
The next step is to enter your vehicle and shop type in the calculator, then take that range to the shop and compare it with the named repair on the quote.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep driving a car that overheats?
No. Stop as soon as it is safe. Driving hot risks engine damage that costs far more than the original fault.
Is a coolant flush enough to fix overheating?
Only if old or dirty coolant was the cause. If a part has failed, a flush at $176–$306 will not stop the overheating.
Why is the head gasket so much more than the other repairs?
It sits between the engine block and cylinder head, so the engine has to be taken apart to reach it. That labor is why the range reaches $1,960–$3,560.
Sources
Data shown on this page
- NHTSA owner complaint file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- NHTSA service bulletin file (2015-2019 · 2020-2024 · 2025-2026) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- CalcScrape calculator model scaled by BEA Regional Price Parities data from 2024
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, Foreign Campaigns (filings under 49 CFR 579.11, public API) file downloaded 2026-10-05
- FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), county table: annualized frequency per hazard file downloaded 2025-12
Terms: US government data, public domain.
Observed: records as filed; owner reports are unverified and are not failure rates. Modeled: our estimate, not a quote.
What is our own estimate
The price range comes from our calculator's formula. Its parts prices, labor hours per job and shop-rate tiers are CalcScrape estimates, not a published price dataset. Not independently checked: no established price guide publishes a general range for this exact job (looked 2026-10-06), so the default has no outside comparison. Methodology