I am hoping some of you may have thoughts on a problem I recently started having. My '03 TLs temp guage is running very high when I am stuck in traffic or even stuck at a long traffic light, but runs at a normal level as long as I keep moving. I do mostly highway driving, as long as I keep going its fine, but as soon as I hit a traffic jam it goes up to about 80%...as soon as I start moving again it drops back to normal, around 40%. I have noticed the fan running more than usual when I shut it off as well. Thermostat? Water Pump??

I am at 139K miles, water pump was replaced when timing belt was done back around 100K.

Any thoughts before I call the dealer in the next couple of days would be appreciated.

 

How is the fluid level?

 

Fluid level seems fine...there was some in the reservoir and I topped that off yesterday

 

sounds exactly like man but I never hear my fan come on.. i just made a thread on this a few hours ago

 

I did see yours and read through that thread but it sounded a bit different from what I am experiencing (at least partly due to the fan issue). Hoping its nothing too significant. I will bring it to the dealer some day this week and arrange my commutes to miss the bad traffic until that time...will let you know when I find out what it is.

 

haha!! same here.. I'm checking traffic right now, trying my best to dodge it until i can make it to the dealer. I'll keep checking back in case you make it there before I do.

 

I'm feeling your pain, man. I'm having the same issue with my '03 TL-S. Acura dealership said it was due to a clogged/dirty radiator and that my license plate was blocking airflow.

They cleaned the radiator and mounted the license plate to its stock location on the bumper (later took the plate off; looked dumb there lol). Car ran just fine for a week. No overheating, no 10-15 minute fan after shutting engine off.

Last week the issue came back. Now I'm going to have the thermostat, temp sensor, and fan switch replaced.

Hope it all works out for you guys.

 

Good luck skwerm and thanks for the input. I called my local repair shop as well as the dealer and the range of possibilities seems to be exactly the list you mentioned, from clogged radiator to thermostat or switch. Car is going in on Thursday to be looked at..until then I am just trying to avoid any traffic! Try doing that in Boston on a regular basis..its a challenge.

 

Had the car serviced yesterday. Apparently under pressure test the radiator was leaking. They replaced that and the thermostat. Both OEM parts, $550. Hope this fixes it.

 

Hey, I am experiencing the exact same problem. Looking to see if the thermostat replacement worked for you and how everything held up.

 

did they at least give you a jar of lube to go with that? that was like $40 in parts and the rest labor

 

read again- he got a brand new oem radiator to replace one that was leaking on pressure test,
and new thermostat- probably based on symptoms and smart to replace- making the whole system new
*except hoses, which if they are soft are ready to replace, no one thinks about them carrying the coolant!

 

Young
go borrow a pressure tester at parts store- get instruction!!!
ck rad for leaks and cap for holding pressure

must remove thermostat to test it - may as well replace for the labor you went to-
get an oem thermostat- the TL is picky

feel the rad hoses to see if one is super hot and the other cool , or one hot and the other warm
one cold means no flow thru radiator- no cooling- plugged up radiator

 

i took it in and they pressure tested and checked the thermostat and replaced my hoses. the only thing they noticed was that my rad. caps spring was cracked and wasn't holding pressure. they replaced it which fixed it for a few days (because i wasn't sitting at any long lights or traffic). i take a trip to the drive thru and it notice my gauge rising again.

i think its my fans because when i tried testing them, i couldn't get them to turn on, even when i connected it directly to my battery. not even my a/c one comes on when i turn the a/c compressor on.

this is only one of my problems though, im in the works on getting the transmission replaced (if the guy im dealing with stops giving me the run around), but i still would like to fix this problem too.

 

no fan in traffic and it will rise up
How high has the temp gotten in these times, and before??

rad caps are cheap and do wear out- system needs correct pressure to operate
Good idea for everyone to ck theirs for summer--or simmer~

 

yea no fan at all.

its gotten over half way maybe 3 times, i do know it wont show signs of a blown head gasket until about 6 months later.

 

weird everyone's having the same issue. my radiator busted the coolant started shooting out of it. The coolant started to shoot out white/brownish liquid. Clogged radiator became a busted radiator. Fan was running the whole time, while I was overheating. Time for a new radiator.

 

acura does say to replace the coolant at 7/105 whichever is first on OE coolant first time.
Harsh climates- do it early like all the maitenance

a lot of people do it at 4-5 years to prevent this problem, did mine when I got the car to be safe

it CAN take up to 6 months for blown head gasket to finalize itself ..
but as long as you never got near redline, dont even sweat it~

It can also take less- followed a honda today with water coming from exhaust that didnt stop and was rust colored

Its summer- everyone should ck the coolant condition- change it- replace the rad cap
ck hoses for softness or soft spots
IF the FANS ever change from normal; stop running or run all the time- there IS a problem somewhere- find it fast
If the temp ever goes above its normal 1-2 lines below half- there is a problem- stop!

 

I got a lot of work ahead of me this weekend.

swapping out radiator, radiator hoses, thermostat, hood lifts

 

TIP: do the hood struts FIRST~ reduces head injuries

remember the engine block drain at back of block- easier to reach from thru right wheel ,,look between the cv and exhaust for a 12mm bolt head or a butterfly twist to open valve
Many find sand from the original engine casting process still in the block!!

 

be sure to follow the book method of burping air when done- the TL has its own method

make sure HEAT is on High to drain system fully, and when burping

 

i have the same problem right now i just bought a new termostat for $35 at acura.new termostat thats your problem or may be chech your radiator for any leaks.

 

Thats funny you say that I bought two hood lifts some off brand ones they were only like 14.00 a piece.

 

I didn't want to start another thread but I'm having a sorta similar issue.

The temperature would rise above 1/2 when I had the AC on sometimes, especially on the interstate. It wasn't rising while I was in traffic. Just recently, I was driving on the interstate without the AC on and the temperature rose above 1/2 and I slowed down and drove back home. I'm gonna buy some coolant from the Honda dealership today.

also, how do you check the coolant level?

 

engine cold- remove radiator cap, add to bottem of neck

Ck res bottle at full COLD line, and inside its cap is a rubber hose that goes into the fluid--so it can transfer between res and rad as needed
that hose comes off the cap and no transfer occurs

also ck engine oil level- when car runs hot it eats some oil to help cool off

does the driver side rad fan come on and off, and the pass side fan ON with ac on?