What You Should Know About Fail-Safe Cooling - Ford Explorer 2011 Owner's Manual

Maintenance and Specifications
WARNING: To reduce the risk of collision and injury, be
prepared that the vehicle speed may reduce and the vehicle may
not be able to accelerate with full power until the fluid temperatures
reduce.
The air conditioning may also cycle on and off during severe operating
conditions to protect overheating of the engine. When the engine coolant
temperature decreases to a more normal operating temperature, the air
conditioning will turn on once again.
If you notice any of the following:
• the engine coolant temperature gauge moves fully into the red (hot)
area
• the coolant temperature warning light illuminates
• the service engine soon indicator illuminates
1. Pull off the road as soon as safely possible and place the vehicle in P
(Park).
2. Leave the engine running until the coolant temperature gauge needle
moves away from the H range. After several minutes, if this does not
happen, follow the remaining steps.
3. Turn the engine off and wait for it to cool before checking the coolant
level.
WARNING: Never remove the coolant reservoir cap while the
engine is running or hot.
4. If the coolant level is normal, you may restart your engine and
continue on.
5. If the coolant is low, add coolant, restart the engine and take your
vehicle to an authorized dealer. See Adding engine coolant in this
chapter for more information.
Refer to fail-safe cooling for additional information.

What you should know about fail-safe cooling

If the engine coolant supply is depleted, this feature allows the vehicle to
be driven temporarily before incremental component damage is incurred.
The "fail-safe" distance depends on ambient temperatures, vehicle load
and terrain.
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2011 Explorer (exp)
Owners Guide, 3rd Printing
USA (fus)