Coolant temp overheat

[jimim]

2020 Rubin on 2.0. 96k miles

was driving to work. 30 mins. No issues. Our building wasn’t open yet so I was sitting in Jeep for a few minutes with it running and heat on. 42 degrees outside. I head a fan turn on which has been turning on lately more than I ever noticed. It kept running and Jeep coolant temp kept rising. Got up to 246 so I started to drive to see if it would go down. It climbed to overheat red warning but then started to drop and went back to normal as I drove 1 block. I’m sitting in it now cause I had to leave office. It’s up to 221 which is normal and not climbing like this AM. I will say I have been hearing that fan more and more over summer into fall like I did today.

any invite or help before I take in Thursday would be awesome.

I have a video of the temp rising. I have a video of me driving it and temp going down. Hopefully u can hear fan running in video when I was just sitting cause I don’t want it to turn into a pissing contest. Lol

can it just be a bad stat since it’s almost 100k miles?

thanks!
Jim

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[Smoke ‘Em]

Might not be your issue, but it’s worth checking the black coolant tank near the firewall.

I had similar symptoms both times I had those tanks go bad. Mine failed at the seam and I could see where it had been leaking coolant from the seam.

 

[jellis4148]

Could be a stuck thermostat. Could be low on coolant. Could be water pump is going bad. If you've had any service done to the cooling system recently it could be air. That's about all it could be. Maybe a sensor going bad not turning the fan on properly.

 

[jimim]

My clean pink is fine. Black is literally empty. Like completely empty. Should I fill it or wait till it goes in Thursday for them to see?

 

[jimim]

Just stopped by a dealership near me on the road. They said they had no coolant to put in it so now I’m going over to the other dealership that’s close enough to me. Is it OK to be driving around with it if it’s completely dry out and again, I did not see anything on the floor in my garage or where I park usually I would’ve noticed

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

My clean pink is fine. Black is literally empty. Like completely empty. Should I fill it or wait till it goes in Thursday for them to see?

You should not drive with an empty coolant tank. Document it being empty both in video and pictures with date/time/vin captured in it. Then fill it up to get to the dealer on Thursday. You risk damage otherwise.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Just stopped by a dealership near me on the road. They said they had no coolant to put in it so now I’m going over to the other dealership that’s close enough to me. Is it OK to be driving around with it if it’s completely dry out and again, I did not see anything on the floor in my garage or where I park usually I would’ve noticed

It went somewhere. Coolant doesn’t just disappear. You might just have missed it. Inspect the hose fittings around the black tank for coolant residue or let the dealer handle. Don’t drive with it dry. If it’s not going to be freezing currently where you are, you can also use distilled water.

 

[jimim]

Ok I’m filled back up. Second dealership by where I’m working filled it and gave me rest of the bottle. He did tell me the distilled water thing. So now that I’m filled I can drive it right? I’ll check it again tonight when in garage.

Shouldn’t they have check it when it was in for service last week? I just went in for oil change and new brakes and literally said to check all fluids. Isn’t that one they check?

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Ok I’m filled back up. Second dealership by where I’m working filled it and gave me rest of the bottle. He did tell me the distilled water thing. So now that I’m filled I can drive it right? I’ll check it again tonight when in garage.

Shouldn’t they have check it when it was in for service last week? I just went in for oil change and new brakes and literally said to check all fluids. Isn’t that one they check?

It should’ve been checked yes but it’s not uncommon for the dealer to skip some of these lesser tasks. You are OK to drive, but you will have to consistently check the coolant level in the tank given that it is leaking somewhere.

 

[jimim]

It’s going in tomorrow morning now. I check the level before and I’ll check it again tonight and tomorrow morning before I take it down. If it’s leaking I should have something on my garage floor rightt? Or is this one of those things that leak and evaporate before it hits the ground.

Thanks so much for the help. I’m so glad I came here and read about the second coolant tank. You guys are priceless on this site.

I’m very thankful.

 

[ScotM]

Take a flashlight under the hood, remove the engine cover, look for pink residue around and under black reservoir tank, and at the hose connections. If you have a failure there, you will see residue. Also look at the water pump , as the Torx screws have been known to back out and eventually cause a catastrophic failure. Make sure the dealership does a 30 minute pressure test, not 5 or 10 minutes.

 

[rav1]

You did right to heed the overheating coolant warning signs, what you need to do is get a vaccum flush and fill, not just a manual one.

As others have pointed out, an empty coolant tank (the black, main one) clearly indicates a leak, even if the secondary ones still show some collant left in them. You definitely need to get a pressure test done - that's the best way to identify where the leak is.

For self-diagnosis, you can open the collant tank (after it's cooled off) and see if the collant is moving when the engine is idling, which would indicate that the collant is in fact circulating. For (engine) relief, you can also run the heater on full to reduce the engine temp - if the heater does not manage to blow hot air, then something is air locked - Ideally, get it towed to the service center.

It may be a stuck thermostat or water pump but the most likely scenarios is probably an air pocket and/or a leak. I had this (an air pocket) happen to me in Moab last week and it took a bit to address.

All the best!

 

[tk1700]

This is

what a coolant leak will look like.

 

[jimim]

You did right to heed the overheating coolant warning signs, what you need to do is get a vaccum flush and fill, not just a manual one.

As others have pointed out, an empty coolant tank (the black, main one) clearly indicates a leak, even if the secondary ones still show some collant left in them. You definitely need to get a pressure test done - that's the best way to identify where the leak is.

For self-diagnosis, you can open the collant tank (after it's cooled off) and see if the collant is moving when the engine is idling, which would indicate that the collant is in fact circulating. For (engine) relief, you can also run the heater on full to reduce the engine temp - if the heater does not manage to blow hot air, then something is air locked - Ideally, get it towed to the service center.

It may be a stuck thermostat or water pump but the most likely scenarios is probably an air pocket and/or a leak. I had this (an air pocket) happen to me in Moab last week and it took a bit to address.

All the best!

thanks so much. ok so i do have hot air cause it was cold this morning.

what do you mean about the collant moving when started?

how do they diagnosis the air pocket? i got lost there.

 

[jimim]

This is

what a coolant leak will look like.

where am i looking on your pic?

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