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Car not reaching Operating Temperature during cold weather
Hello y'all, the last repair done was back in February for all fuel injectors, had no problems since until I realized something today 155k miles.
Recently where I live we got a cold front, reaching 30-40 degree's so it's quite cold outside. I took the Maxima out for a drive (only drive it once a week for an hr or so now temporarily) and I noticed my temp gauge would not reach operating temperature. It would only reach 1/4 of the temperature instead of the usual 2/4 operating temperature.
I drove it on the highway for 20-25 mins, city 20-25 mins and it still was at 1/4 without shutting it off. Never reached 2/4 Temperature or above. I was like "Is it really that cold??" Does driving the car overcooled (1/4 Temp) be harmful to the car? Plan on driving it one more time for maybe 10-20 mins next week to see if it does it again and if it does... I plan not to drive it until its fixed. It drove perfectly fine, idle was smooth, revved normal and etc.
Any suggestions on what the problem could be would be appreciated.
Could be a faulty thermostat stuck open never allowing the coolant to fully heat up, or a faulty temperature sender causing a faulty reading on the gauge.
I had the same problem, except for mine it barely got above the "C".
being that the parts were cheap I just replaced the sender and the thermostat and that fixed it, can't say which was the actual problem though.
There's actually 2 temp senders, one for the ECU and one for the gauge, I suppose if you have access to a scan tool with live data you could see if the coolant temp is actually that cold, assuming the ECU temp sender is good, and that would tell you if you have a thermostat or gauge sender issue.
I would remove the radiator cap while the car is cold. It should be full of coolant.
If it is full of coolant the next thing I'd do is to turn the heater control temperature to maximum.
If you get heat as usual, I'd say that the thermostat is fine, but the sensor is bad. If you don't get the normal amount of heat, the thermostat is stuck open.
Keep in mind that the ecu feeds a richer fuel mixture until the engine temperature is normal. A stuck thermostat would cause a rich mixture all the time.
The extra fuel would be burned in the cat. That would cause it to overheat and cause damage.
So I took your recommendation to do the easy thing first. It was around 73 degrees outside today and there was coolant in the radiator but none in the overflow tank.
So I decided to fill the overflow with coolant a little over the maximum line and some in the radiator. Started up strong, took it for a 15 min drive or so, it did reach temperature a bit close to the middle line, but not sure. Take a look at the pictures below.
This was the temperature last week when it was quite cold outside, I’d say 30-45 degrees if I remember and it stayed there the whole 45 minute drive on city/highway. Temperature gauge from today after adding coolant in the radiator and overflow. It was 73 degrees today and stayed there throughout the 15 minute city driving. Definitely did rise close to the middle mark but unsure if it’s correct, did not rise higher than 2/4th of temperature so no overheating issues. This is the correct operating temperature it’s normally supposed to be at, I took this photo a couple months ago randomly. This will help compare the recent two photos.
What goes through my mind is that how come the temperature rose close to the middle line this week after adding coolant as opposed to last week? It does seem to be a bad thermostat...
What goes through my mind is that how come the temperature rose close to the middle line this week after adding coolant as opposed to last week? It does seem to be a bad thermostat...
i would recommend trying to hook up an obd2 scanner device and verify the coolant temp ecu is seeing is reflected by on the temp gauge to verify the accuracy.
Ok so It was indeed thermostat, also the radiator cap (Cracked/Swollen), Reservoir tank was replaced with a new one as old was all yellow and dirty inside. The Temperature rose to the correct operating temperature.
Checked all fluids and it was all good to go, took it for a drive and saw my Oil light flicker at idle a couple of miles later. I started to Panic hard as I never have seen this light on all those years I've had it and usually check the oil. Every car owner's nightmare.
Luckily I was a minute away from Valvoline oil change and no one was there...shortly after 5 cars pulled in. They did the oil change... Started up strong, idle was smooth, no weird sounds, Although again shortly after a few miles in idle, the oil light started to flicker again even AFTER the oil change, Car had the proper amount of oil! ...
I was on my way home (a couple of miles away) and trying to get home ASAP. But as soon I get to speed/on the gas the oil light goes away. Then a couple of miles later, I noticed the oil light getting dimmer and dimmer...and it eventually stopped flickering at idle? I just wanted to get home ASAP and figure out what the hell is going on. The car's temperature gauge never rose above operating temperature and never overheated. Ran fine, no weird noises, smooth idle.
Help save this car or it may end up being put to rest lol. No rust, new parts, clean body etc. 156k miles
Ok so after taking a break from what happened, I went out and tried again. The car sat for 11 days, checked the oil before starting the car. Oil was at the middle line. I put the key in the ignition and embraced my fears. The car started first try and started up smooth/strong. I didn't see or hear any weird sounds... I put it in drive and stayed in the neighborhood to make sure I was close to home in case if anything were to happen. I drove around the neighborhood for a good 30 minutes with stopping and pressing on the gas as well at times, slow speeds.
The temperature stayed at the middle line and the oil light NEVER turned on. I started to get a little less anxious little by little, I continued to drive a little further out for 30 minutes and nothing... no oil light or weird sounds. I said to myself again "Face your fears" and drove for another hour outside of the neighborhood and the car ran like it should and oil light never turned on, temp gauge stayed at the middle line majority of the time.
I did notice something very small though.. when the car is facing at an uneven height, say uphill. I notice the temp gauge rise just a little bit over the middle line but then when the car is on the ground level, It goes back to the middle line fairly quickly. It never overheated. Could this be air in the system or the radiator cap I put in? (looked like a cheap brand, It is a brand new part) The car hardly ever faces uphills or downhills so I would think this could be very minor, should I see what is causing this issue?
I think all in all what happened was after fixing what was causing the low temp gauge issue. My last oil change was in March of '19. Meaning I went 9 months without changing the oil. Mind you I only drive this car once a week and maybe for 30-45 minutes in city and highway when I do for now to reduce wear n tear. This is the longest I've gone without changing the oil.
Usually, I change it 3-4 months regardless of how many miles I have driven ever since the last 7 yrs of having this car, but didn't this time. Learned my lesson then and have to go back and do oil changes every 3-4 months. It does leak a bit of oil from the rear main seal and maybe my car also burns a little oil since it's what? 24-25-year-old original engine. So I may have had run it low on oil for a minute or so... luckily I was near Valvoline oil change.
Since the oil light still came on shortly after the oil change, It would flicker on/off in idle and would turn off if I stepped on the gas. It could be that oil needed to settle everywhere inside, do multiple drive cycles in the computer to confirm oil levels. And when turning off the car after a drive I think that helps the oil settle where it needs to go and lubricate everything.. so
I think that's the story of what happened. Turbo and Jvg mentioned about the oil pressure switch/sender. I had that replaced about 2-3 years ago and was thinking "It may of gone bad already but may of not.." I was unsure which to pick but It seems to me that I just didn't have enough oil and the switch was picking it up. I will be checking again and confirming next week once I take it out for a drive..
Regarding your oil light...
It appears you live in a climate where it get's really cold. What oil are you using? 10w-30? 5W-30? or?
Also, are you using synthetic or conventional? Synthetic oil offers better protection in colder weather.
Regarding the oil light. You mentioned that you used to change the oil every 3-4 months, now 9 months. Are you driving the car less than before, or do you drive as much as usual?
Do you have oil spots under the engine?
Any obvious leaks?
Do you check the oil level at least once a month, or at least every other fill up.
I'm thinking that the flickering oIL light might be there because you changed your oil change frequency, or don't check the oil often enough, or have a leak. Did you need to add several quarts to bring the oil level where it should be?
I don't drive as much as I used to before I retired.
I use Penzoil Platinum , one of those synthetic oils one changes once a year, or at least 8000 miles.
I've done this since I got the car 14 years ago.
I do check oil levels regularly. I noticed that oil consumption increased from 1 qt in 8k mIles to 1 qt in 4000 miles. I also started smelling a burned oil smell. I discovered a leak at the valve cover by the radiator. I replaced both valve cover gaskets.
Your water temperature fluctuations might be related to replacing the thermostat. It's possible or likely that you still have air in the engine.
You should raise the front of the car a foot or so. While the engine is fairly cold.You could use rsmps, or jacks, or park on a hill. Use the parking brake of course. Then remove the radiator cap and run the car till it's good and warm . Then blip the throttle a few times while looking into the radiator. You will probably see bubbles. Continue until you don't see bubbles.
I've experienced both of your symptoms on various cars.
In response to wizard, I have been using 5w-30 conventional its whole life. Also where I live we don't get any snow and weather has been around 50-70 degrees recently.
Jvg, as mentioned I usually change the oil every 3-4 months the whole 7 years I've had this car but this one time I decided to push it 9 months due to the fact I only drive this car once a week now. I think I only did 1k-ish miles for last year. I did daily drive this car since Oct 2012, up until Oct of 2018 when It had Injector issues and sat for 4-5 months. Then I continued driving it once a week since March of 2019 after Injectors were fixed.
I do have oil leaks but I did have lots of the seals replaced but I do know for sure the Rear main seal is leaking. I left that alone cause it's not much oil dripping out and requires removal of the transmission.
I usually check the oil maybe every 2-4 weeks. Also, should I proceed to see what is going on with the temp gauge going up on an uphill? Is it minor or something I should fix?
Josh, the temp guage is probably fluctuatin because there is air in the cooling system.
This also means that there is not enough water in the cooling system. Your car needs enough coolant in it to prevent overheating. In other words, it's critical that you fix this.
Obviously I don't really know what's wrong with your car. I'm just diagnosing a symptom which I've encountered my self on other vehicles.
You will need some coolant, perhaps two quarts.
Here is how to remove any air from your cooling ssystem:
WhIle the engine is cool, raise the car up in the air.
Remove radiator cap.
Start the car. Let it run a few minutes till it's up to operating temperature.
Blip the throttle a few times with the throttle cable.
look into the radiator. Look for bubbles. Bubbles indicate air that was trapped. Once there are no bubbles, lower the car and replace the radiator cap.
Other members had the same issues. This method has worked for them.
Hmm will go ahead and make sure there's no air in the cooling system, as that's what it appears to be. I've read other posts about people replacing Thermostats/Radiator caps and also the Overflow tank hose can cause air in the cooling system.
Hmm will go ahead and make sure there's no air in the cooling system, as that's what it appears to be. I've read other posts about people replacing Thermostats/Radiator caps and also the Overflow tank hose can cause air in the cooling system.
Exactly.
replacing any cooling system part on our cars introduces air into the cooling system.
It's a common problem. The symptoms match yours. The cure is always bleeding the air out.
I have personal experience with this. That's why I mentioned it.
Ok have taken it out for a drive once again for an hour to confirm that I’m not the only one seeing it. For the most part it’s in the middle line but will rise slightly for maybe a few minutes depending on how the car is sitting then immediately go back to the straight line afterwards. Will be checked to see within the next couple days to recheck the system to be safe than sorry. Temp gauge above middle line slightly Temp gauge at correct position 2 minutes later. See how it’s a straight line?
Just so we can rule out out any air in the system, have you tried to bleed the air from the system?
If not, why not? I really do know what I'm talking about.
Ok, I think there was just some air trapped in the system. I took it out for a drive once again for a hour/20 miles through multiple roads, uphill, bumpy, and straight. The needle stayed at the middle where it's supposed to be at all times and never rose or dropped even at a complete stop.
Seem's that getting air out solved the issue. Will keep an eye on it within the next couple weeks every drive.
Well seems to be back to square two...been driving it once a week for a while, until today was 2 weeks it sat. It's doing the same thing again, It'll go to operating temperature for maybe 15 minutes and never rise.
Until the car is running and driving for a good 20-25+ mins without shutting off, I notice the temp gauge will rise a little similar to the picture I showed before. It'll go down If I'm going at speed and rise in Idle/uphill after the car is hot.
The car runs smooth. No Check Engine light. 156k Miles. Just some cooling problems...
The parts I've replaced in the cooling system are:
Radiator- Couple years ago
Radiator cap- Replaced when Radiator was replaced a couple of yrs ago and again just recently
Lower and upper Radiator hoses- A year ago
Thermostat- Replaced two months ago
Cooling parts I have never replaced in the 8 years owning this car:
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but have you verified the radiator fans are turning on? My car recently had weird temperature issues and I noticed that my fans were not turning on when I turned on the AC, swapped it out and now car is running fine.
-Dorman Thermostat housing unit JVG
-Carquest Radiator Cap
-Dorman Coolant reservoir tank as well with hoses attaching to Radiator cap.
Hmm, I'm not sure if the radiator fans are turning on. I'm not 100% on that messing with my A/C messes with the temperature... I've driven it with cold A/C full blast, 74 degrees on 2/4 blast and it seems to have the same effect. Though could be wrong on that.
Would u recommend I try driving it with the A/C completely off to see if the temperature still continues to rise a little?
The car does reach operating temperature, but as mentioned before, It will rise a bit over the middle line after it's been driven for quite some time but never overheat. It does look like it wants to but never does.
The car does reach operating temperature, but as mentioned before, It will rise a bit over the middle line after it's been driven for quite some time but never overheat. It does look like it wants to but never does.
The title of your post says Car no reaching operating temperature .
Most of us would think that means it does not get warm enough.
Yet now you say it DOES get to operating temperature, and a little above, and fluctuates.
That means the opposite it seems.
I understand that aftermarket thermostat's dont work as well.
Or your fans don't turn on when they should. Probably thermostat related. Might be sticking a bit. I had that happen in another car I had. It's thermostat eventually stuck shut on Siskiyou Summit as I was driving to California from Oregon.
I blew a head gasket and warped the head.
Originally my car would only reach 1/4 temperature. This was before replacing the Thermostat/ Radiator Cap
Replaced Thermostat and cap, Temperature rose back to operating temperature, but eventually went over the middle line but never overheat.
Did bleed out any air in the system. Was good for 2 drives, never rose above the middle line
Then now I'm back to sq two, the temperature is rising above the middle line again doing the same symptoms as mentioned before. Though never overheats.
11-12-2019, 03:21 PM
