Mike Rongo

Not super familiar on this topic, hence the post. But we are constantly below 15 degrees Fahrenheit up here for most of the winter and my car doesnt seem to stay up to temp. The temperature gauge will get up there if you let it warm up in park for 10 minutes and keep it on a very specific heat setting, but occasionally will dip down to a lower than normal temp...unfortunately this heat setting prevents me from keeping my windows de-frosted or the passengers in the car warm (really annoying)....can this be a thermostat issue?...If it is a thermostat stuck open, wouldnt the temperature gauge not even move upward? I was told by a buddy that this is common on older cars in the winter to get cold when in drive. Just super inconvenient for the time of year when we're getting slammed with cold weather day by day, and it seems super fixable. Any insight?

EDIT: Worth noting i had the water pump and timing belt just replaced less than 2 years ago...FWIW. I understand that a faulty water pump can cause the car to overheat, but this is the exact opposite?

3D Stuff

Hi Mike, This could certainly be caused by a sticking thermostat. If I understand your post correctly, the vehicle will warm up ok when parked but while driving the temp drops. This is due to the increased airflow across the radiator. A quick (temporary) solution would be to block part of your radiator to reduce air flow during driving. Semi truck drivers will often use this method to maintain proper operating temperatures in very cold climates.

Mike Rongo

Hi I really appreciate it....That definitely gives me a starting point before I start ripping apart the radiator in freezing temps ...Hopefully its as simple as this $20 fix.

shipo

Stuck thermostats are not at all uncommon.