OK, this evening my car redlined in the temperature gauge on the way to school. As soon as I cranked the heater full blast it went back into the normal range for the final 5 minutes of my drive. I had been parked with the engine running for about 5 minutes when I noticed it was overheating. 5 minutes of idling on a 75 degree shouldn't cause an overheat. After I parked my car I checked fluid levels and all were fine, I also did not notice any leaks. Me, being dumb, then drove home after class (about 25 miles). The car started up just fine and never even got above the halfway mark on the temp gauge the whole 20 minute drive, which included surface streets and driving about 70 on the interstate. I did have the heater on again the whole time home as a precaution. So apparently I need to get my car looked at. My question is, why would it overheat once and not again later? Any ideas? I just paid tuition at two schools so I am tight on money and can't afford to fix it for a couple weeks anyway. Since my return trip home was just fine might I be OK driving it and having it checked out when I have money?
You'll probably be fine as long as it doesn't overheat again, just make sure you watch the temp. But if it happens again, I would definitely have it looked at soon, cause you can do a lot of damage to an engine like that if you're not careful...and then pay a lot more in the end.
Yeah, I know. The car is 15 years old though, so it's getting to the point where anything more than a minor repair is probably not worth it.
Sounds like either the thermostat is stuck and needs to be replaced, or the water pump is going out. Either way, it shouldn't be that terribly bad.
I would agree with you on the causes. The good thing is a thermostat is very inexpensive, and is the most likely cause of an over heating engine.
Yep thermostat would be one and also the water pump, also don't forget the radiator itself, it could be getting clogged up and also the fan relays, make sure your fans are turning on, also make sure you check all the hoses, especially the ones all the way in the back near the firewall going to the heater, those tend to crack....yeah i know, so many possibilities, start with the cheapest, thermostat... BTW, if it ends up being your water pump you might as well do your timing belts also... Is this your Accord we're talking about?
Thanks everyone. I was hoping it might be the thermostat since that's cheap. I'll check out the engine a little closer this morning when the sun comes up. I did a real quick look over last night because it was getting dark outside and I couldn't see very well.
Lol, I guess it might be time for a new car... My grandma has a 13 year old car she bought brand new and it only has about 45000 miles on it. Runs great!
Wirelessly posted (Motorola V600: MOT-V600/0B.09.4AR MIB/2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.0) Yeah it will soon be time for a new one. it's an Accord with 129K miles on it. I figure it has so little trade value I will drive it until it dies. oh, and the car ran fine all day today!
Me too... my 1986 Honda Civic Si is rusty as hell... so rusty in fact that when I tried to rotate my tires I ended up bending the frame instead of jacking up the car! I've looked around and I should be able to pick up a 1993-1994 Civic Si for about $2000-$2500. And FYI, my car is 18 years old but it's a Honda so the engines' still good.
Sounds to me like the thermostat stuck....then opened up. I don't know too much about cars.....but sometime soon that thing may stick and not open up at all...probably at the most inconvenient time too
One other thing to check is the cooling fan, make sure it comes on when it gets hot enough, you said when you were moving it didnt get hot, but when you were sitting it did heat up. More than likely if it isnt working the relay is bad, but it could be the sensor too, and least likely is the fan motor itself. For a quick cheap fix you could wire a toggle switch up to the fan to make it come on manually.
I'm going to buy a new thermostat and replace it. Then I will just let my car idle and see what happens. If the temp goes up and the fan doesn't go on I will go about getting that fixed. I've been stopped for up to 2 minutes at a stoplight with no engine temperature problems the last couple days so I am hoping that, like shizam said, that the thermostat just got stuck.
A couple of things to check, make sure the radiator is full and clean inside. remember to only open it when the car is cold. Sometimes you can have an air bubble floating around in your cooling system that will create a hot spot by the temp sensor causing the gauge to move around alot. Also make sure the outside of the radiator is clean. The better the air flow across the radiator, the more efficient the cooling. Just take a garden hose and spray off the radiator/condensor area, it can also make you A/C work better too. Like others have said, make sure your electric cooling fans come on when it gets hot. Check all those and you should be good to go.
Thanks Buickman. I did the radiator check..it's pretty new. About 2 years old (20K miles) and the fluids were good.
