Most people check the coolant level wrong
This is worth setting out plainly, because a system can be low for a year while somebody checks it every month and sees nothing.
Check it cold. A warm system is pressurized and the coolant has expanded into the overflow tank, so the level you see is not the level the engine has. Check first thing, before the vehicle has run.
Check the overflow tank, not the radiator. The tank has minimum and maximum marks and is designed to be read. Opening a radiator cap tells you less and, on a warm engine, is dangerous.
Watch the trend rather than the reading. A system that is correct every time is fine. One that needs a little added every few months is losing coolant somewhere, and where it is going is the question. A leak you can see is the good outcome. Coolant disappearing with no puddle anywhere is the one to have looked at.
That third point is the one that gets missed. People top up, see the level restored, and treat the matter as closed each time rather than noticing it is the fourth time this year.
Why it matters more in this heat
A system running slightly low has less coolant to carry heat away and loses some of its pressure margin, and both of those show up when the weather is hot and the engine is working.
A vehicle that has been quietly a quart down all spring is the vehicle that overheats in July towing something, and the owner reasonably concludes the heat caused it.
What a service covers
Radiator, pressure cap, thermostat, hoses, water pump, fan and the coolant itself. The national cooling system page covers what coolant does besides stopping the system freezing, which matters here where freezing is not the concern.
About this store
The Jonesboro store runs seventeen services, opens at 7:00 AM, and is managed by Tony Kuehnel.
See the national cooling system page for all 33 locations.