Yesterday, while going to work my car was not cooling even when I had my A/C, at first I thought it was a very hot day, and later I realised that it was something to do with the A/C. While coming back from work, I saw fumes/smoke coming out from under the hood. I thought it was something to do with my A/C, today while coming to work even though I did not have my A/C turned on, I still see fumes coming out from under the hood, and the car head level is at H(red). I am not sure what the problem is, can anyone advise what needs to be done, should I take it to the dealership for this, or is this which I can fix myself, please advise.

Thanks and Regards.
cartech18

 

There's a lot of things that can cause overheating. Fans dead, bad fan temp switch, bad thermostat, low coolant, bad water pump, bad radiator cap; would probably be the common ones.

DO NOT REMOVE THE RADIATOR CAP WHILE THE CAR IS HOT. When it is cool, check the fluid level in the radiator.

If the thermostat is no good, the lower hose will be cool and will not be hard when the car is on (system pressurized), though that could be the pump too - the pump would likely be making noise though. You can take the thermostat out and put it in a pot of boiling water to see if it is operational. This is fairly simple and inexpensive to remove/install yourself, just have some extra coolant/water around.

It can be bad to have the car overheat all the way to red - it is not good for the head/block, so if you can't check it yourself or work on it yourself, take it to a mechanic.