Where is your temp gauge needle?
 

Under normal conditions what notch is your temp gauge at?

It should be exactly at the halfway mark, plus or minus only a few degrees. If it is noticably over or under the halfway mark under normal operating condition, then check your thermostat and waterpump for starters.

on my 93 Bonne the needle was one needle width above 200. I assume this was 205 (there was a 205 degree thremastat installed). The gauge would flucuate between 205 and 225 based on load to engine. Once load condition was removed, the gauge returned to 205. This is when the secondary fan kicked in to help return temp to 205.

On my Lex, the gauge goes to the halfway mark and has never flucuated. However, I find that I still glance at it from time to time. You can tell alot from the temp guage.

sj

Mine ran a little above the halfway most of the time ans sometimes it ran at the halfway.

My sisters are at the halfway when they warm up completely.

my temp gauge always runs at the mid mark. no higher, no lower. even in the summer, which on some other cars should actually go higher.

usually if the needles ever goes high, i check my engine coolant. i've had to fill it once since we stopped doing service at Lexus.

my temp gauge barely hits mid mark by the time i get to school, so i don't mind it much. the funnier thing is that i can tell my engine temp... even though my needles are all dead.

On my old Porsche 944, the temp needle will rise to a little over the 3/4 mark, and then the high-speed engine fan would kick in and bring it back down to 1/4. This startled me a lot when I first got the car 1 1/2 years ago- to the point where I pulled over and turned the car off in traffic to let it cool. I later learned that this was normal and all 944s do this, but it is still a little unnerving to watch the needle rise and fall in traffic. In the Lexus, the needle is pegged at the 1/2 mark when fully warmed up. Never higher, never lower. I also glance at it once in a while. You're right, they can tell you a lot....

my 94 es actually runs a bit cooler for some reason
just below or at miway
ii guess it depends on its mood
oh i am in brisk Toronto Canada

skperfomrance - if you've ever had your thermostat replaced, the one in there now may be a 195 or 180 degree. This would cause the needle to indicate cooler. just a thought.

steviej

my 94 is always at half way

but my old es 250 would run cold in the winter before i sold it...but my dad said there was nothing to worry about if it runs cold.....only worry when its running hot.....was this true?

if the engine is not functioning at the "normal" operating temperature then fuel economy and engine durability will be compromised. The "normal" temp will vary from make to model to engine but all in all it is around 195-205 degrees F.

Proper engine cooling is critical to all systems. The chemical properties of air, fuel, and oil will vary depending on their temperature.

sj

acutually it used to run at mid way all the time for years has teh water pump changed but i don't think the guy changed the thermostat as i gave hime all the parts
plus i know it was done right as he is a lexus tech and did it in the lexus shop in 3 hours and for $250 canadian

Mine is always steadily below halfway. Is this a problem?

nope. you may have a 195° or 180° degree thermostat in there. Has it ever been changed in the past?

If it doesn't move when running at normal speeds and load conditions, if it ain't flucuating when the AC is on high, if it rises steadily to that point upon start up and then stays there, if you get heat in the winter, if there ain't no check engine light telling you you got a temp problem...................THEN.....................it is just fine right there.

don't worry about it until it is not routinely at the point you usually see it at.


did that all make sense? :rolleyes:

steviej

my needle is at the middle but when I open the hood, the engine is very HOT! even the Airbox is hot. I would burn my finger if i touched it more than 3 seconds. and this is the plastic oil cap that i am touching. Now I know this is kind of subjective, but how "hot" is your engine when you physically touch it? the plastic parts...

Another old thread back from the dead, but I feel this is important to talk about since the cold winter weather is coming around the corner.

The engine temp gauge needle in my '01 ES pretty much sits just about a needle's width below the midway point at normal operation. I have no idea if the thermostat has ever been changed in the car, but I haven't experienced any heating or cooling problems so far. Sooner or later, the Toyo Long Life coolant will have to be changed (color and level are fine), and I might intend to do it at the 90K service since I'm at 78,000 miles now. What do you guys think? steviej?