Passat (B6) :: MFD Is Indicating High Temp But Needle Is At 0
Oct 7, 2010
Wifey calls me this morning while im already on the road saying that the MFD is indicating, hi temp, but the temp needle is at 0, as it should be when the car starts first thing in the morning. This was just this morning when she was leaving for work. Told her to shut down, and restart car, warning gone, ok good to go but not even reaching to end of street the gauge needle is already at operating temp (90). Met here back home and took a look under the hood. The coolant canister was well below min.
The car is a 2009 wagon with 20k kilometers. So off to the dealer to check for any leaks. they did a pressure test on the system and no leaks. They said the coolant had evaporated and it is not unusual.
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What the heck? I have not heard of an over heated O2 sensor. I know they have an extra wire in them for a heater element but I have two temp codes indicating the failure and a permanent code as well.
I know its under warranty but what a weird failure. Overheating...Guess Ill be making that appointment at service earlier than I expected.
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Looks like I'll be late for work today.. damn it's cold.. the temp needle went up to hot I immediately cut it off. It shouldn't have hurt her right?
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I have a 2005 Elantra GLS with a couple thousand miles over 100K. There is what appears to be an overheating issue with my car. When I'm driving it in city driving usually less than 45 MPH, the heater blows cold air. However, on the highway (greater than 50 MPH) it blows hot air and the temp needle stays in the normal range (just below the halfway point between hot and cold and more towards the cold). However, when I slow down and come to city speeds, the temp needle starts to rise and the heater blows cold air.
The needle went to the red zone this morning but as soon as it got to the red zone, it slowly came back down to the normal point (within 2-3 seconds). And @ the same time, the heater started blowing warm/hot air like it would be functioning normally. When the needle got the red zone, my car didn't stop or I didn't see smoke coming from the hood or anything like. It was almost like something (maybe thermostat) tripped and allowed the engine to cool.
After doing some research on this, the potential issues point to thermostat, coolant level, radiator crack. I haven't checked how the coolant level is doing but I will check that this weekend.
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I have a '93 Ford Tempo 2.3 liter with a/c ....it OVERHEATS ... love the car, but when I sit in traffic, the temp needle goes up almost to the redline, I have to shut the car off .... it happens all year round ... if I'm driving up a hill the temp starts climbing, if I turn the heat OFF the temp climbs, in summer when I put A/C on the temp climbs ... I've put 3 Thermostats in, a new Water Pump, there are NO leaks in Radiator, I've replaced Hoses ... no I'm not a mechanic, I've brought it to garages ... other than the overheating issue it's a good lil car, uses maybe 1 QT of oil every other month ... when I lived in SC had the same car....SAME PROBLEM...had a 1995 Windstar that did the same thing, replaced radiators etc nobody could figure it out, or didn't want to....what is it with Fords!
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After about a 5 mile drive my '05 6 cyl Santa Fe always smells hot. The temp gauge needle always stays mid point. Coolant is good and is changed regularly. No oil in coolant or coolant in oil. No cracks in recovery bottle or hoses. All hoses tight, has been pressure tested and is ok. No heater core leak, no visible leaks anywhere in the engine compartment or under the car and no green patches on the radiator. After about a week of driving the recovery bottle level is down about 3/4" but the radiator is full to the neck. Where the coolant is going and how to locate the source?
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My car overheated last August and the mechanic changed the thermostat. Since then the temperature needle does not leave the bottom of the dial and I'm getting no heat (except occasionally while idling). My husband has changed the thermostat two more times (180 and 195 degrees), plus checked for air in the cooling/heating system. Anything else he should look at?
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After a trip of about an hour to the Fryeburg Fair yesterday I noticed my temperature gauge needle was going way up. I was able to park my car and went to the fair for about 4-5 hours. Before we left I checked the coolant level as the car had cooled off enough to take the cap off. The coolant right to the top and was green. I checked my oil level and that was fine. On the way home my son suggested that I turn the heat on. I did so and the temp gauge went down to normal and stayed that way all the way back home to Lewiston, Maine. I'm thinking it might be the thermostat but thought I would for any other possible reasons my car is doing this. The car has about 216,000 miles and I did have the thermostat replaced a couple of years ago.....???
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A friend has a 2005 Honda Civic with approximately 120,000 miles that she just bought the end of 2013. The car was kept immaculate by the previous owner. This week as she was driving, she said the temperature needle suddenly went all the way to H. Earlier in the day, she had noticed the A/C was not consistently cool but didn't think much of it as there were no other problems with the car. When the temp needle suddenly went to H, she shut off the a/c and before she could pull over the temp needle went back to normal. She checked the coolant level which was very low and she took it to the dealer who ran multiple tests including checking the thermostat, cylinder compression tests, etc but they could find nothing wrong. I keep telling her there is a reason it did that and that coolant doesn't just disappear and that I think she should take it back.
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Well, I'm still driving the same old 1998 Honda Civic DX two-door coupe, and I've got a problem with overheating. The temperature gauge needle doesn't get quite to the red, but it's popping up higher than usual, and I'm concerned to see it getting anywhere near the red. It usually spikes when I get off the highway and stop at a light, but it also does it occasionally in a drive thru, and recently, I discovered that when I give it a little gas in neutral, it brings the temperature gauge needle down to normal.
Here is the history of recent repairs and troubleshooting:
-About 3-4 years ago, I had a leaky radiator replaced, so the one that is in there isn't very old.
-Last year I had a mechanic replace the thermostat, the radiator fan, and the radiator cap when I started having this problem.
-A few months ago, I had the timing belt serviced (the entire kit, not just the belt), but since the water pump looked fine and the car has so much mileage (275,000 miles), I opted not to replace the water pump. (I regret that now. I usually replace the water pump with every other timing belt, but I've learned my lesson.)-I've been to several shops to get a diagnosis, but they have a hard time getting it to overheat at all, so they can't diagnose it.
One guy suggested the water pump might be worn out (inside, without leaking outside). Another guy suggested that "if it was the water pump, you would know it's the water pump." Each mechanic has done a pressure test on the cooling system and a flow test on the radiator, and they all say they are fine. One mechanic theorized that I might have a very small head gasket leak, but nobody else thinks that is the case and there is no sign of coolant and oil mixing. Besides, the temperature gauge has never been in the red.
-One mechanic who tried to diagnose the problem recommended replacing the plugs, plug wires, rotor, and distributor cap. After doing that, it is running better than it was, but that didn't resolve the overheating problem. He also retarded the spark timing, but it is self-adjusting, so it re-advances itself after a couple days of driving. I can hear what sounds like minor knocking, but it's always made that noise since it was new.
-Everyone who has tried to diagnose the problem says the thermostat is opening and closing as it should, and the radiator fan comes on and shuts off when it should.
I'm done getting second and third opinions, and I'm ready to start throwing parts at it. Do you think I should start with the water pump? What are your thoughts? Don't tell me to replace the car. I just bought a new motorcycle.
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I have a 2002 Nissan Frontier with a non supercharged 3.3L v6. The truck is a crew cab, long bed and 4x4. I have had this truck since I bought it used in 2004 with 26k miles. The truck now has 196k miles and I have done a little modifying to make it a bit more off road capable.
I have done all the work to the truck myself, until last fall when I finally broke down and took it to a dealer, who was not able to find my problem, but I will get to that...First of all, the truck has steel bumpers, a winch, a tool box, onboard air system and large tires, all of which make the little 3.3L work hard. However, for three years since I quit making modifications, the truck ran perfectly cool and the temp needle never once went above the normal operating position, even through thick sand at the beach, mountain trails and towing heavy trailers, until last summer.
Late last summer, on 90+ degree days, I noticed the temp needle would start riding above normal when I had the AC on. It didnt matter if I was on the highway, the city streets or idling in the driveway. When I turned off the AC the needle went back to normal. This started happening occasionally at first (once every 2 weeks) then towards fall it started happening more frequently, almost every 90 degree day. Soon after I noticed the problem, it would happen even with the AC off, but not get quite so hot.
After a few weeks of this, I started chasing the problem. I replaced the radiator cap, the thermostat (tested the old one and tested the new one before installing,) I took the radiator to a rad shop and had it boiled and flow tested, I replaced both coolant temp sensors, and then finally the water pump. When none of those repairs made a difference I built new radiator fan shrouds and that made no difference. At this point I was starting to get discouraged so I borrowed a scan tool from a friend and drove around for a few weeks with it plugged in. I was reading live temperature readings of the coolant and verified that the gauge was working correctly.
The truck ran about 200 degrees with the AC off most of the time, then, when I turned the AC on, no matter if I was sitting in park or driving on the highway, the temp would steadily climb until it got to 222 degrees and I would shut off the truck, at that point the needle was near the danger zone and according to several nissan dealership, the highest normal operating temp is 204, but it should stay around 195. At 205 degrees, the needle would start to move above the normal position, so the gauge seems to be fine. As summer turned into fall, the truck started running cooler as the days began to drop into the 70's. I finally got fed up with chasing my tail and took the truck to a dealer with my main concern being a blown head gasket or cracked head.
The dealership inspected the head and tested the coolant for hydrocarbons and said that the head and gasket are not the issue. They advised that the only other thing it could be is my fan clutch. After that dealership visit, the days were cool so I drove the truck all winter without changing the fan clutch. Then, 2 weeks ago, on a 70 degree day, I hooked up my truck to an empty trailer (maybe 1000lbs) and towed it 15 miles. When towing up hill with the AC on, the temp needle started moving. I immediately went to napa and replaced my fan clutch. Confident that was the issue, I drove the truck to the mountains for a camping trip last weekend. While climbing the hills at 40mph and about 2500 rpm, the temp needle climbed to the near danger zone.
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My 1991 Nissan 240SX (only 85K miles!) has an intermittent overheating problem that began last November. Needle usually right in middle, but occasionally would quickly rise to danger zone. In Nov., I got new radiator and pump, as well as all new spark plugs. Was OK for about 3 months, then started overheating occasionally. In shop a day and a half while they tried to find the cause. Gave me a new thermostat. Then test showed there was a leak in head gasket. Instead of expensive repairs, I put 8-oz bottle of K-Seal in cooling system. Reviews all over the web gave me confidence it would seal all leaks. But within 5 minutes, it overheated. Tried again later, same result.
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Was on my way to my girlfriend's house and decided to do a few pulls. Noticed afterwards my rpm gauge was stuck at 6k rpms and wouldn't go any lower. The car was running fine and I was in 6th gear just cruising at 55mph. Did another pull and after that it was stuck at 8k and if I downshifted the needle would max out at the 6 o'clock position. When I arrived I turned my car off to see if it would reset itself and it got stuck at 7k rpm.
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I took my 2000 passat 1.8t to a couple of places and both say that my abs and brakes are fine even though there is a flashing light that says brake lights failure and abs light. The brake lights do work. Is there a way for me to clear the code?
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I have a strange problem, my boost guage needle is jumping like crazy, there is no vacuum leak and the max boost i get is 0.5 bar, when the guage needle is not jumping I get a boost of 1.4 bar. I have mechanical boost control.
97' passat B5 1.8T AEB with FMIC,K04-15,2.75",chip (that was made for the original k03).
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Last night while driving I saw the needle at zero and was surprised because I refilled a few days earlier, there was also no warning light to refuel the car. When reached home turned the car off and then on and the needle moved in position.
It happened again this evening and restart cured it ... only for the gauge to fail again while driving. The fuel-to-empty indicator was not showing any distance.
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Passat TDI: Occasionally the needle on my gas drops to zero, stays there for awhile, then returns to an accurate setting. THE SAME THING is happening on my '99 Jetta GLX. Bad gauge on both cars? Could water from a gas pump due this?
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Last fall I had my radiator flushed and at the same time my coolant overfill canister with built in temperature guage sensor was replaced with a new unit. (The service station replaced the resevoir canister with a new unit in the engine compartment, because they felt the sensor is prone to failing after 7 years.)
Ever since, my temperature gauge needle on the dash will randomly drop (even when the car is up to FULL OPERATING TEMPERATURES) showing the engine being cooler than it out to be. In other words the needle drops signifying to a much lower water temperature. After a period of time the needle will recover back to the normal full operating temperature mark on the dash gauge.
What could cause this? Inside my radiator do I have a "diafram" temperature valve that could be failing /"sticking?" In other words could a temperature valve in the radiator be sticking at odd or random times??? I also notice that my heater does not put out the usual full furnace heat that a Passat is know for. The temperature is about 1/3 cooler now that we are into winter temperatures.
Is my heater core clogged?
Could the new coolant sensor in the new coolant overfill chamber not be working well? This whole situation began AFTER my radiator was flushed, and AFTER I had the coolant reservoir canister and sensor replaced.
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So yesterday I was driving home from work.. I know my tank was 3/4 full. All of a sudden, my low fuel light came on and my gas gauge needle went to empty.
The needle sits at E, but it still says about 20 miles till empty on the MFD. When I left the house this morning, it said 5miles till empty.. by the time I got to work, it said 20. Kinda odd..
I will hook up the vagcom when I get home tonight, any area I should scan for? or just a complete scan? There is no CEL error on the dash though. What I could look at to fix this?
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So, 97 Geo metro 4 cylinder... bought it last month with no lights on... but within 7 miles of purchasing it the check engine light came on. Code is for a High Intake Air Temp... went to take a look at the sensor first... but the sensor had just fallen out of it's mount and was sitting in a hotter area than it belonged... I plugged it in where it goes and the light went out... for about a week. The light came back on, the sensor's where it should be, and I have the same code. I figured it being close to the exhaust manifold may have damaged the sensor, so I replaced that... and the light stayed on. Since it was intermittent before, I assumed the code just didn't clear, so I've been driving it for a while hoping the computer will reset, but no luck.
So, assuming the sensor's fine, what would cause a constant high intake air temp (including when the car first starts)?
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96 chevy camaro 3.8. i got a problem with the idle temperature, just replaced the water pump and thermostat (180 degree). when driving around the cars stays at a constant 180 temp but when sitting and idling for more than 3 or 4 minutes the temp starts to climb and gets up to about 230-240 which i know is not good but that's when the fans start to kick on. The system is clean all new antifreeze, no air in the system every thing ready to go. I know its not normal for the temp to climb that high, what else could be cause this high temp at idle?
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