According to the U.S Department of Transportation, cooling system failures are the number one cause of vehicle breakdowns on the highway. Many of these breakdowns are attributed to coolant leaks (hoses, radiators, bad radiator caps, etc.), water pump failures, thermostat failures and defective cooling fans.

An industry survey conducted in 2003 by 1-800-Radiator reported that more than 6 million radiators are being replaced each year. The data was compiled from 2,500 counties in all 50 states and included 663 different makes and

models of vehicles. The survey showed that the vehicles with the highest radiator replacement rates were older Chevy pickup trucks, Ford F-Series pickup trucks, Ford Taurus, Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry. These six models accounted for 16.4% (roughly half a million) of all the radiator failures in the survey. The high percentages do not necessarily mean these vehicles have weak radiators or other cooling issues. The high percentages may be due to the popularity of the vehicles and the fact that there are a lot of them on the road. The survey also concluded that vehicle age and mileage have the greatest impact on radiator life, with hot summer weather causing the most boilovers.

One major radiator supplier said radiators are lasting longer today thanks to extended-life coolants. The typical service life of an original equipment aluminum radiator is upwards of 10 years or more. But radiators can succumb ...