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Old May 24, 2026 | 02:58 PM
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Default Overheated

35 miles from home from a 2k mile trip, I got stuck in traffic. After 20? minutes of stop and go, I got a over heating message and chimes. About 1 minute later there was a "explosion" under the hood and coolant sprayed over the windshield, out the wheel wells, etc. After towing my '14 home, I found that the cap on the coolant recovery tank is gone. I haven't had a chance to really look the car over yet.
Any suggestions or ideas??
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Old May 24, 2026 | 06:17 PM
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Replace the cap, refill with coolant start and run the car, check that the fans are coming on. My first thought is that the thermostat may have stuck closed.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 08:08 AM
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Rinse off any coolant ASAP or your paint will suffer.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 10:05 AM
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OUCH! I kind of get that the cap blew off after it overheated. It will be interesting, what you find that caused it to overheat.

Last edited by kodpkd; May 25, 2026 at 11:35 AM.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 11:30 AM
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Cap should have opened, released pressure, at ~ 15lbs and not 'blown off' the tank.

Released coolant due to over pressure should have exited the drain tube onto the ground.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 11:48 AM
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The cap blew after about 400 miles of normal temps, so I don't think the stat was closed. I refilled the coolant tank with water, started it up and ran to normal temp, but I cannot find a leak so far. New cap is being delivered today, so I'll start and pressurize shortly. The radiator looks clean and the fan came on. I did wash off the coolant after getting towed home.
Actually, I think I was lucky that the cap blew when it did, rather than on a lonely stretch of Az or NM. Interesting and frustrating.

Last edited by Sayfoo; May 25, 2026 at 11:50 AM.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 02:53 PM
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If it was my car, I would go ahead and replace not only the surge tank cap, but also the thermostat.

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Old May 25, 2026 | 04:38 PM
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True,,,,, but not with a 160* stat.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 07:15 PM
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I got the new cap on and as the car heated up, I noticed a drip about 1/2 way between the rear of the fender well and the edge of the door. Offset about a foot towards the passenger side.
Heater core?? Or hose??
I'm assuming it's a major pain to access or change out.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Sayfoo
I got the new cap on and as the car heated up, I noticed a drip about 1/2 way between the rear of the fender well and the edge of the door. Offset about a foot towards the passenger side.Heater core?? Or hose??I'm assuming it's a major pain to access or change out.
I think that is the general area of the coolant reservoir that is know to leak. There are several post about replacing the oring under it or the elbow and the oring. Does not look like a hard task to do
http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...reservoir.html

Last edited by PicaVette; May 25, 2026 at 07:22 PM.
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Old May 25, 2026 | 08:08 PM
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Originally Posted by PicaVette
I think that is the general area of the coolant reservoir that is know to leak. There are several post about replacing the oring under it or the elbow and the oring. Does not look like a hard task to do
http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...reservoir.html
This is very possibly the problem. I'm not thinking heater core so much as I don't have any liquid inside on the floor or any fog on the windshield.
Big thank you.
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Old May 26, 2026 | 10:28 AM
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Common issue for 2014s to have a bad fan module (built into the fan assembly) that will randomly just not kick the fan on, usually after a decent highway drive and getting into traffic. The car probably overheated because the fan didn't kick on and built up enough pressure to blow off your cap. The fix is installing a Z06 fan.
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Old May 26, 2026 | 11:51 AM
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Originally Posted by cbrider73
Common issue for 2014s to have a bad fan module (built into the fan assembly) that will randomly just not kick the fan on, usually after a decent highway drive and getting into traffic. The car probably overheated because the fan didn't kick on and built up enough pressure to blow off your cap. The fix is installing a Z06 fan.
The highway/stop and go senerio is exactly what happened.
Yesterday, when I refilled the system, I noticed that the fan came on immediately after starting.
Is this normal? Fan on even when cold starting?
What is the normal fan operating sequence?
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Old May 26, 2026 | 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Sayfoo
The highway/stop and go senerio is exactly what happened.
Yesterday, when I refilled the system, I noticed that the fan came on immediately after starting.
Is this normal? Fan on even when cold starting?
What is the normal fan operating sequence?
Typically, if your fan comes on immediately on cold-start it suggests an issue with the coolant temp sensor...
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Old May 27, 2026 | 02:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Sayfoo
The highway/stop and go senerio is exactly what happened.
Yesterday, when I refilled the system, I noticed that the fan came on immediately after starting.
Is this normal? Fan on even when cold starting?
What is the normal fan operating sequence?
Was the AC turned on? If the AC is own the fan is supposed to be on.

Bill
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Old May 27, 2026 | 11:28 AM
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Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn
Was the AC turned on? If the AC is own the fan is supposed to be on.

Bill
True with the AC. I believe all C7s will turn on the compressor (and fan) when the temp is set to LOW, even if you don't push the AC button...have to have mine set at 61 degrees to keep the system from wanting to run the AC compressor. Kind of frustrating.
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Old May 27, 2026 | 04:56 PM
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My 2017 GS overheated last month. I had replaced the thermostat last summer as it was failing open. The normal failure. This time it failed closed. Once I swapped it out I'm back to normal. I did change the o-ring under the expansion tank, it takes a #116 o-ring. I also changed out my radiator cap, it is a 20lb cap and it releases between the bottom o-ring and the top o-ring on the cap.
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Old May 28, 2026 | 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Sayfoo
35 miles from home from a 2k mile trip, I got stuck in traffic. After 20? minutes of stop and go, I got a over heating message and chimes. About 1 minute later there was a "explosion" under the hood and coolant sprayed over the windshield, out the wheel wells, etc. After towing my '14 home, I found that the cap on the coolant recovery tank is gone. I haven't had a chance to really look the car over yet.
Any suggestions or ideas??
Your safety is our team's top priority. We can only imagine how frightening this experience must have been for you and we'd like the opportunity to learn more so we may explore ways we can assist best. For our assistance, please visit: https://s.chevy.com/support-request and fill out the support request form with all pertinent details. This form helps our team gather the right information and ensures your request is routed appropriately. Your cooperation is much appreciated.
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Old May 28, 2026 | 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Chevy Cust Svc
Your safety is our team's top priority. We can only imagine how frightening this experience must have been for you and we'd like the opportunity to learn more so we may explore ways we can assist best. For our assistance, please visit: https://s.chevy.com/support-request and fill out the support request form with all pertinent details. This form helps our team gather the right information and ensures your request is routed appropriately. Your cooperation is much appreciated.
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Old May 28, 2026 | 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Chevy Cust Svc
Your safety is our team's top priority. We can only imagine how frightening this experience must have been for you and we'd like the opportunity to learn more so we may explore ways we can assist best. For our assistance, please visit: https://s.chevy.com/support-request and fill out the support request form with all pertinent details. This form helps our team gather the right information and ensures your request is routed appropriately. Your cooperation is much appreciated.
In other words you, as representatives of GM, aren't going to do squat except tell the OP to go to the dealer to fix the issue. GM won't be compensating anyone for anything.

Last edited by Macleod52; May 28, 2026 at 02:14 PM.
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