icecom3

I have an Acura TL 2005. It seems to be getting hot when it idles. Normally the temp gauge would not pass the halfway mark. But now if I sit in traffic and don't move it shoots up to the 3/4 mark. Its not near the top yet, but its cold outside. I worry about this summer when its 100 degrees out.

What things could cause this?

Some recent history:
Just had the valves adjusted because it had a rough idle, also replaced timing belt, water pump, and steering pump pulley.

thoiboi

It should get moved shortly..


Either your radiator is shot, leaking, there's little/no coolant, your thermostat is going bad, your radiator fans aren't working properly, your fan relays aren't working properly.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I was going to say water pump, but looks like you already replaced that. Have you checked your coolant levels?

I'll also move this to the TL forum for you so you can get some help from other TL owners. Welcome to the site

stevemk07

Is your cooling fan turning on? Apparently the stock relays can stop working and it is a known issue by Acura and new relays are spec'd. The old ones were Osram. Check to make sure it is working.

truonghthe

check your radiator fan, one of the two fan could be out of commission and that explain why your temp shoot up to 3/4 and not the full mark.

icecom3

I have two radiator fans?? I had no idea. I know that I hear a fan kick on when it happens, but I thought it was only one, I will check.

thoiboi

when was the last time you popped your hood?!

truonghthe

DOUBLE FACE PALM........ Yes you have two fans if I am not mistaken all Honda car use two fans.

Jackass

You do realize lots of people never pop the hood and never look at their fans? If I hadn't read it on this forum, I would have probably never known there were two fans on the TL. Why would I care most days? Until the car acts up, knowing how many fans there are is not important. Thinking back through my previous cars, I can only tell you for sure on 2 out of 6 cars how many fans they had....and that is only because those happened to be the cars that I had done some of repairs on somewhere in the front end.

WDPanda

Leak somewhere, air in system. Try looking for leaks around rad, thermostat housing, cap, heater valve. In the mean time you can try burping the system with the lisle coolant funnel

Grantbiz

I'm pretty sure your radiator needs coolant directly INSIDE. If the coolant reservoir is at level, it does not necessarily mean your radiator is full. The reservoir is an overflow for when the radiator coolant is hot. Also, when parked, your car may only run one radiator fan, it doesn't mean one is "out" or broken. Add some distilled water or 50/50 coolant inside your radiator cap when the engine is COLD and see if that fixes your problem.

YeuEmMaiMai

start car and turn ac on, both fans should come on immediately. if not, test both fans by putting 12V to them directly, if they work, test replays

SocomM4

iTrader: (2)

you do realize that's lame asf, right?

His face palms were justified.

allennn

check your radiator fans, when car sit in idle the fans usually cools the radiator when it hits a certain temp and when your car driving down the ram air cools it down

Le7316

Thermalstat being stucked ( close position ) .....

icecom3

thanks for all the replies. I did check (belatedly) both fans work. Based on the replies, there seems to be many possible things that can cause this.

I also notice it happens more when the car is idle but in drive, at a stop. Like in a drive-thu or stop sign. Not as much when in park/idle. However, it does not pass the 3/4 mark. I also notice both fans kick on when that happens.

Before I stress over it, is the 3/4 mark really bad? Is it normal with a car with 250k+ miles to run a little hotter maybe? I only assume it is bad because I have never noticed it pass the midway mark.

I was thinking of taking it to get a radiator flush then if still doing it try to investigate some of the items mentioned. Where is the thermometer/sensor thingy located? My car is notorious for failing sensors.

stevemk07

My needle does not go above about 1/3 when the system is functioning properly. You should get it checked out if you want it to keep working for a while.

At least see where your coolant level is in the radiator (when cold).

Maybe you just need to "burp" it.

thoiboi

OP,


Get one of those, put it on the radiator, and start the car to burp/bleed the radiator



Me thinks you have air in there somehow..

Nytetime6

I had a similar problem. It ended up being the heater control valve. It leaked then one day it broke spilling out coolant everywhere. One of the main symptoms was the car blowing cold air in the winter while stopped.

Then in the summer it would get hot while I was stopped. One day it broke leaking coolant everywhere. Coolant reservoir was full, radiator was bone dry. Had it towed to the dealer and they replaced the heater control valve.

jimmyfu

250K+ miles? When was the last time you had the timing belt job done? Should be done every 105k miles, so the last one should have been done around 210K miles with the thermostat. If it hasn't been done then that is a probable cause. It'll also call for a coolant flush, so it'll rule that part out of it still doesn't fix your issues.

Also, read this thread, it'll go into detail about the fan relays, which is pretty easy to understand for someone who has never really checked under the hood:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p...ck-fix-947309/

This is a $34 part that could potentially fix all your issues, so I'd start with the cheaper options first before doing everything else. With that said, again, if you haven't done the timing belt service in the time frame mentioned above, I'd recommend doing it soon.

donkiboy

I think I may have the same problem ('06 TL auto). However, it's not just hot air that comes into the cabin. The entire front part of the car, is very hot.
It's so hot, I cannot stand near the engine bay / front fender area.

Coolant levels are at the very top, temp display is middle range, but for some reason my car is literally a space heater.