Driving in traffic, cruising between 30 and 50 MPH, the high coolant temperature light starts flashing. Then goes solid. I left off the gas and slip into electric mode. The light goes back to flashing, then turns off. This happens a few more times as I try to pick up speed, so I eventually pull off the highway and park somewhere and turn the car off.

About 10 minutes later, I try to drive to see how much of a difference this made. It's 57 degrees and raining, so I'm hoping the engine cooled down enough. Not 3 or 4 minutes after I get on the highway (gentle cruising and acceleration), it happens again. At this point I know I can't keep driving, since it seems to overheat right around optimal engine temps. I pull off and park, call AAA, and get a tow back home to swap cars.

The car will be going to the shop tomorrow, and I will update the thread once I find out what's going on.

FYI: Both coolants were last changed at 300k. The car is currently at 360k. Before the 300k change, it was 200k. It's hard to tell whether the interval is the issue or something else. I'll find out tomorrow.

 

Hopefully it's something as simple as just needing a new thermostat. If that happens, what you want to do is turn the temperature all the way up and put the fan on high to draw the heat away from the engine and open all the windows. This is not the fix, but just enough to limp the car somewhere in an emergency. Let us know what the issue is.

 

Quick update: Driving to the shop today, same thing happened. Stayed off the highway so I can drive slow and run electric often, which worked out well. I noticed the heater is blowing cold air only, which didn't happen Saturday when this issue first arose.

Car's at the shop and I am leaving it there for them to diagnose and do a few other things.

 

Sounds like a water pump problem..

 

That sounds thermostat related.

 

Update: turned out to be a coolant leak. Apparently a coolant hose that's reachable from the bottom of the car was damaged and leaked. I do recall having to drive over a large plastic thing not too long ago that spent a few seconds rattling around the bottom of the car before it made its way out. I knew I'd be going to the shop on Monday (12/18) so I knew they'd find anything that may have been damaged. I'm guessing that plastic thing caused it. New hose and a coolant refill later, all is well.

On a side note: I asked about the coolant flush interval. They told me they still recommend 100k per change because the coolant, at 60k miles, still looked bright red and almost new. I guess I don't put that much load on my car even though I drive a lot, plus it's more miles than time.

 

glad it turned out to be a relatively easy fix!

glad its back on the road!

 

I don't know about you, but I was worried about the fate of the courier CT for a moment!!

 

Hey Raidin:

Which part of TX are you in? I'm curious how you get that great MPG on your CT. I'm in Dallas and mine is around 40 mpg manually calculated.

 

Me too! I was worried it was the first major problem I will see. Looks like I might make it to 400k before anything major!


Me too!! I was so bummed that it may be something so serious that I'd need to get a different car!


Houston area (Katy, TX). I drive from Katy to Galveston. I-10 to I-45 each time, unless there's a significant delay, then I will switch to toll highways. I cruise at 60 MPH in the right lane with adaptive cruise, and keep at 5 MPH over the limit or less on city roads.

Lately I have been driving 65 MPH instead, and now I get around 47-48 MPG instead of 50-52 (warm and clear weather). I get close to 40 when I drive this way in the cold and rain, especially if I keep my speed up in the rain instead of driving far slower.

 

So glad to hear it wasn't a major problem. Glad to see it was fixed and you're back on the road. You're very close to the 400K miles mark. Congrats and happy driving...