anne311

Hello! I am having some over heating issues with my 2002 Subaru Outback. I got the car from a dealership at the beginning of July. I first started noticing it slightly over heat while going up into the mountains. I had the AC on at the time and figured it may help if I flipped it off and it did for a bit, farther up the mountain the needle started to rise again and I had no where to pull off the road. I was nearing the top so I figured I would keep going. Once at the top the needle dropped back to the mid line. I checked the coolant level which was full, no leaking that I could see any where and the fans were working. The car drives fine around town with AC on and I drove from Salt Lake City to Boise the other day with AC on and cruise control with no issues. The next day I was pulling a trailer that weighed approximately 500lbs up a few hills and the needle started rising again. The needle has never gotten into the red but it alarms me that its going above the 3/4 line but I also haven't let it go any higher. I will either pull over and give it a break for a minute or eventually it will work its way back down. I took it in to a mechanic and had the thermostat replaced, he said it didn't look like there was a leak from any of the radiator hoses or the head gaskets and confirmed that the fans worked. Today I drove back from Boise to Salt Lake pulling an empty 350lb trailer and halfway into the trip the needle started rising again. So I flipped the AC off and it slowly dropped back to the mid line, another 100 miles later it started rising again. I pulled over checked the coolant level again which was full, no leaks that I saw and fans were working. I continued on without the AC and without the cruise control and made it home. It seems it only starts to over heat when going uphill. Any ideas on what could be causing this issue would be greatly appreciated! PLEASE HELP