Honda - Cr-v :: Temp Gauge Fluctuates With Air Vent Flow?
Nov 9, 2011
I have a 2001 Honda CR-V SE, and I'm having a little trouble with it ... About a week ago I noticed that as I was driving around the city, my temp gauge was going up and down. I had the heat on, and when I was pressing the gas, the gauge would go down. When I coasted, the gauge would go back up to the middle. The gauge never went higher than the halfway point. I thought it was possible that my fluids were low, so I checked the coolant reservoir. It was empty, so I added some. The radiator itself was full to the lip (like the manual says it should be, if I interpreted it correctly). The first day or two, didn't notice anything, but then the gauge seemed to start falling again.
Anyhow, I decided to drive back to the big city to get it fixed, a 3 hr drive, last night. The car seemed to be operating fine. I did not have the heat on, but there was air flowing through the vents. The gauge started to creep downward, so I thought "Hey, let me hit that button that closes the vents" I did that, and the gauge creeped back up! Problem solved right? Negative! It was raining, so when that button was on too long, my windows got foggy. So that's how I spent the next two hours, button on, button off, then I finally just opened the windows to allow the air to circulate. In the meantime, I stopped for gas, allowed the car to idle for a while (no air/heat blowing at all) and the guage didn't move. It stayed in the middle.
Closer to the end of my trip the gauge started to creep upward, over the midpoint (The first time it's done that since this whole thing has started). Once off the highway, I turned the heat on that first notch, and the gauge went back down to normal.
At any rate, so it's Wednesday. I'm planning on getting the car to a shop on Friday, but in the meantime, I just wanted to get some info out there from the community. I'm pretty nervous about whats going to happen. I just had my car at an oil change place 5 days ago, and the guy didn't put the oil cap back on the engine, so I literally was driving for 3 days with oil spewing onto my hood (Checked the levels by the way and they were fine). The only way I would've known is that I opened the hood to check the coolant levels. I noticed the gauge issue last Wed, took it in for the oil change Friday (In which they said all my fluids were fine), checked the coolant Monday, and drove it 3hrs last night.
Are there any specific keywords I should mention to the mechanic for him/her to check?
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So I noticed a few days ago when driving the turbo around that the temperature gauge fluctuates... ALOT. it will warm up to full operating temp, then when driving will go way down, almost to the cold line again and SLOWLY rise up, and when I mean slowly, I mean it takes about an hour or so to get there.
Well today, I changed the oil, there were about 2 qts in there but the car was about 2k overdue. MY BAD! So upon driving around seattle/bellevue/redmond today, noticed the gauge doing the same thing, and I am stumped, IDK why it would be doing this, the car doesn't overheat or anything.
Also, the girlfriend said that when she was driving the car, in the warmer weather, even while moving the temp gauge read almost hot, and the car was telling her to shut it off etc... I seriously am at a lose here.
The other night we noticed the TAIL light was out, but the brake light still worked. Last night we were out with some friends, they said that the TAIL AND BRAKE lights were not working, but ONLY on the drivers side, the passenger side worked as it should, we also noticed that when we hit the brakes, the front drivers corner light comes on and stays on until we take our foot off the brake.
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Why, after so many repairs and $$$$ with a AAA Certified Repair shop, the temp gauge that sooner or later shows the needle HOT? Everything accounted for - thermostat 5x, radiator 3x, computer, maintenance, etc etc etc. " It's fixed !!" and then it's starts all over again. It's got 186,000 on it, couple of minor wrecks, all maintenance kept up, still driving it but the needle goes back up again and again. Funny thing, water levels remain the same, no smoke, no red engine light, slight smell of a hot engine but nothing else so far. Still, that needle!! This has been going on a couple of years. Want to figure it out before I get rid of the car. 2003 Civic Coupe DX ....
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i have a 2002 Honda Civic EX, 155,000 miles. I've been having this problem for quite some time and the mechanic has not been able to figure out what the problem is. He has changed the thermostat, pressure tested the coolant (or something along those lines) but the problem persists. The mechanic also pressure tested the radiator system and said there was no leak. He also told me the tank was overfilled with water, apparently I didn't need to be waiting for the car to cool down so I could add more water, so I've stopped doing that. I have NOT had the scheduled 150,000 maintenance done yet. The mechanic said it wasn't 'urgent' and if I wanted to wait I could. I was hoping to spend the money repairing this problem before doing that, which he said sounded OK to him. The timing belt was replaced in 2007 right before I moved across the country.
I'll try to be succinct, but the explanation is long. Overall: when driving the car to run errands around town the temp gauge used to quickly go all the way to HOT & the A/C starts blowing hot/humid air. When this happened I was pulling over, turning off A/C & radio & putting the car in neutral until the gauge goes back down, used to take only a few minutes but if driving in town (stop lights/traffic) i have to keep doing this b/c the needle returns to the top quickly. I also started trying putting the car in neutral while stopped at lights or in traffic & if i pushed on the gas pedal & kept the engine at 3K RPM the needle would go back down & A/C would start blowing cold when I started driving again.
The other part of this is if i change the A/C vent diverter from all vents blowing at upper body to vents blowing at face & feet or all vents blowing at feet the green 'recycled air' light goes out & the air starts blowing hot & humid, this persists even if I push the 'recycle' air button again.
Until yesterday this temp gauge & A/C issue has not been nearly as much of a problem when driving on the highway at a consistent speed, in other words when the car doesn't have to idle the problem didn't occur very often, the temp gauge may have moved towards 'HOT' but never got all the way up there. Until yesterday. I had to drive thru town with quite a bit of construction & resulting traffic as well as a few stop lights which sent the gauge go to HOT quickly. When I got on the highway I was expecting the gauge to go back down & the A/C to start blowing cold air.... alas, it did not. the gauge stayed very near HOT the whole time & the A/C never blew cold air. It was 106*F yesterday?
And yet another part of this problem, which the mechanics have told me is NOT related to this problem: in the winter time the heater took an extraordinarily long time to heat up and then would only blow warm air while the car was moving at a pretty high speed, under around 30 MPH and there was no heat, and definitely no heat when idling. I do not remember the temp gauge hanging out at HOT all the time but I do think it would go higher than the middle range.
The car has yet to actually overheat. Apparently the mechanic can't diagnose/repair the problem until the engine DOES overheat, at least this is what he has told me. I'm not feeling very confident in this mechanic, as clearly the problem is getting worse over time. And I don't believe it is OK to continue driving a car when the temp gauge is at HOT all the time, that doesn't seem smart at all. Sadly, the mechanic that used to work on my car & was able to diagnose & repair problems quickly & competently has gone to work somewhere else & is no longer working on cars. So, I have decided I cannot continue to use the current mechanic and am now faced with having to take it to the dealership, something I REALLY hate to do. I just don't know of any other reputable Honda repair folks in the area & am tired of being w/o my car for days at a time and still have to deal with the problem.
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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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I Have a 2003 Honda Civic EX that is running rough and the windows stopped working and the temp gauge doesn't rise. Would this be do to a bad/failing alternator or something else?
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The other night I passed a car overheating (Subaru) and checked my temp gauge and saw my needle was gradually climbing towards the half mark. This is not normal for my 96 Honda Accord. No lights coming on, so I blasted the heater and needle immediately returned to it's normal position. Filled the coolant, it was low, but the problem remains if the heater isn't turned on to at least 3. This doesn't seem extreme enough to be the thermostat. Could my fan be out?
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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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98 accord v6, when we first got it about a year ago the temp gauge was a little erratic. Sometimes it would stay all the way down (cold) after driving for awhile. You can take your finger and thump the plastic and it would jump up to normal. At first it was only temp, but now all gauges including gas level are not working. Odometer still works right but the speedo goes to about 45 and stays there. Thumping still makes the needles bounce around.
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My 1994 honda accord station wagons cooling fan is working but the temp gauge still goes all the way up then back to normal numerous times while driving.. I park on the side of the road while the car is on, pop the hood to check and see any signs of over heating but the motor seems to be normal.. What could be happening??
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This is weird. SOmetimes my gas gauge fluctuates from low to high. I don't know how to explain it but it just bothers me thinking there might be a problem I'm not aware of. This also shows LCD display saying 190km left then after I start driving for a while it'll show 210km. [IMG] [URL] ....
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My car just started doing this. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm at around town driving speeds or if I'm on the highway. The car does it in both recirc (max A/C) or in normal. I want to try changing my fliter first but I don't knwo where it's located or how to do it.
The car is a 2008 Elantra with 64K miles on it.
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Something strange started happening to my '04 Prius yesterday and it happened again today. We are experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures here in Western Oregon for October and when I left my house this morning at 6:30 am, it was about 55 degrees. I have a half hour drive to work on a mixture of expressway, freeway, expressway again and then the two-lane highway.
Anyway, yesterday (and today) when I'm almost to work, my temp. gauge drops down to 37 degrees. This causes that yellow light to start blinking indicating that the engine will not shut off because of cold temps. It will warm back up to 45 degrees a minute or two later. Why is this happening? It for sure is not 37 degrees outside. Is my temperature sensor going bad? Is this exhibiting the behavior of a sensor going bad?
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My fuel gauge fluctuates once I turn the key to Acc, once I fire it up it goes back to empty and climb back to the correct position,
Also once this happens, my MFD starts to act crazy, sometimes it shows nothing, and times gets stuck on the door open screen and my steering wheel controls go dead, if I turn off the car and then on its gets stuck "Volkswagen information" screen.
I disconnected/reconnect the battery everything went fine for a couple of days and then happened again,
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My oil pressure gauge jumps all over the place when I get over 3000 rpms. At lower rpms it is in the normal range and the engine sounds ok. How can I tell if this is the oil pump or the sending unit or the gauge? This is a 1980 CJ5 with a 151ci 4 cylinder.
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I have a few problems with my explorer. I was just wondering if there's any way I can fix them on my own instead of paying a mechanic. I
1. back passenger window wont roll down .. .
2. Gas gauge fluctuates can't get an accurate reading on it .. .
3. service engine light comes on for a couple days, then goes off .. .
4. shifts hard if i go over 65mph and then slow back down .. .
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Last night I was driving to work and had the vent on...I noticed that there wasn't a lot coming out of the left (driver side) vent but a lot coming out of the middle two vents. Thought I would throw this out there in case I may have a blend door issue or something.
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02 6.8 4x4 excursion. When I start the truck cold, the trans temp gauge immediately moves to "running" temp. Not really sure how this happens, I'd figure that if the xducer was trash it would ride all the way high or all the way low. What's happening here? I'd sure like a functional gauge...
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I have a 2004 Grand Prix and it is displaying the symptoms of overheating but the temp gauge is not going above normal operating temp. I replaced the thermostat twice, and after driving for about 10-20 mins coolant comes out of the overflow. I'm at a loss, I'm thinking temp sensor(?) But I don't want to keep throwing unnecessary money into it. The fans work fine, the heater blows as it should.
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I have a 2012 Crew cab Silverado 5.3 V8 with the towing package. When I pull my travel trailer (approx. 5000 lbs), the water temp stays 1/2 guage and the tranny temp is 170-190, however, on steep hills the water temp guage goes 2/3 to 3/4 guage for a short time and the tranny temp reaches 200-210 degrees. Is the elevated water and tranny temps okay or should I try to reduce them back to the normal range. What is the max temp I should keep the tranny at?
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!995 honda accord, 5 speed. Idle is fine until the engine warms up, then fluctuates between 1500 to 2500 rpms. The idle control valve was cleaned- no change. Valve was also replaced -also with no change. Put old valve back on. Computer was disconnected after cleaning and also after each valve change.Would the next step be to remove and clean the fast idle thermo sensor? Also how do you check the coolant lines coming in. Anything else I would need to check, clean or replace.
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