Hello, 2011 stock PPV, 77k miles on it.
I replaced the bypass hose and tee fitting off the top radiator hose a few weeks back, topped off the coolant, ensured that the overflow bottle was topped off with 50/50 Dexcool and went on my merry way.
Noticed that the car seems to be running hot - it will warm up pretty quickly and sit at around 190-191 (I have a https://www.scangauge.com/products/scangauge-ii/ monitoring the coolant temp)
The car would warm up to around 190-191 and even on the highway it wouldn't drop below that. Previously I would say the car would be on a low temp or 170-180 even with driving around, and occasionally go over 200. Now it seems to be 190-191 when it's "cool" and over 200 when I'm in traffic.
This morning I tried to "burp" the system - took the radiator cap off and let the car heat up with the heater on, it got up to around 206 and there were some air bubbles showing up but not a lot (I didn't have one of those spill free funnels so the coolant just sort of spilled out onto the floor). Once i shut the car off, the coolant level was still quite high, so not much had boiled out. I took it for a drive, and it dropped to 190-191 pretty quickly but never got below that, and stayed between 190-195 most of the drive. It's a cool Sunday here in NY area, so not lots of traffic where I drove - I did a mix if highway and local streets. When I pulled into the driveway after sitting for just a few minutes it was back at around 203.
Is this the "new normal"? or is there something else I should be doing. The coolant is a nice clean orange color.
Thanks!
Car seemingly running hot? or is this OK?
Re: Car seemingly running hot? or is this OK?
The factory thermostat is set at around 190, so you are in good shape. That fans won’t turn on until around 220 unless you have the AC on, so 203 is no problem.
Re: Car seemingly running hot? or is this OK?
OK thanks Sanford! I just remember the car running cooler (like around 170-180) but with more fluctuations in temp range.
Re: Car seemingly running hot? or is this OK?
Just as a followup, since replacing the hose and the tee fitting the temp has been rock stable, even when sitting in traffic the car hardly goes over 200, sometimes it will go up to 207 maybe? But it's mostly between 190-195.