What are possible causes of my car over heí ting?

If your coolant was boiling –you likely have a coolant circulation problem. A few suspects come to mind: a failed water pump, clogged radiator, stuck thermostat – or cooling fan failure. Let's talk about moving water/coolant first. Waterpumps move the coolant by way of spinning impellers that wear down over time and can no longer push the water through to transfer the engine's heat to the radiator. The thermostat operates like a door – opening and closing - to maintain an optimum - not too hot, not too cold – engine operating temperature. The radiator is the place where hot coolant becomes cool so that it can return to the block and grab more heat and take it away. If the fluid makes it to the radiator, it gets cooled by traveling through tubes that are cooled by cooler air passing over them. That air comes from your forward motion down the road, and from the action of the radiator cooling fan. A failure of any of these, the water pump, thermostat, radiator or cooling fan could cause disastrous overheating. If you're a do it yourself-er, you may be able to replace any or all of these yourself, along with fresh coolant. You'd also do well to consider replacing your primary cooling system hoses and your serpentine belt while you're restoring your cooling system's good health. However, an engine that's been overheated to the point of boiling deserves to be thoroughly checked out by a qualified technician. Don't be surprised if they test for a head gasket leak. Severe overheating is the cause of head gasket failures, and those only get worse, not better, left unrepaired. Two more good reasons to seek professional help - they can quickly isolate which part is failing you (instead of guessing, or replacing all of them) and they'll be able to find out why your warning lights didn't alert you to a potentially catastrophic problem! Look for a Repair Pal Certified shop near you for a professional you can trust. Hope this helps and good luck!