I warmed up my car tonight and drove a short distance < 5 mins. I sat with the car idleing and watched the temp gauge go down all the way to cold. Is this normal just something I've never noticed? Temps are not too cold...about 0F.

 

Some background possibly unrelated.

 

Last night I drove a short distance <5 mins did not warm the car up. Shut it off and went in store...came back out and it started right up and then quickly killed itself. Then it would not start. 10 mins later it started.

I warmed up my car tonight and drove a short distance < 5 mins. I sat with the car idleing and watched the temp gauge go down all the way to cold. Is this normal just something I've never noticed? Temps are not too cold...about 0F.

 

Some background possibly unrelated.

 

Last night I drove a short distance <5 mins did not warm the car up. Shut it off and went in store...came back out and it started right up and then quickly killed itself. Then it would not start. 10 mins later it started.

 

I have noticed low temperature readings at idle on extremely cold days. 0 degrees is pretty cold, especially with wind chill in addition. I don't know if it's cold enough to prevent idling from keeping the temp needle up though. BTW, do you have a preferred Subaru mechanic in Madison?

 

Andrew

yeah its weird right? There isn't much wind tonight. And when I drove it the temp came back up which is forcing more cold air in so I dunno what wrong.

 

I've only had work done once in town and that was at Phoenix Foreign Car Service. Harry and Bob are very good honest mechanics. They mostly work on Volvos but they do a lot of Subaru work too.

 

Also I've heard good things about Hansen's on south Park. They might be cheaper than Phoenix.

yeah its weird right? There isn't much wind tonight. And when I drove it the temp came back up which is forcing more cold air in so I dunno what wrong.

 

I've only had work done once in town and that was at Phoenix Foreign Car Service. Harry and Bob are very good honest mechanics. They mostly work on Volvos but they do a lot of Subaru work too.

 

Also I've heard good things about Hansen's on south Park. They might be cheaper than Phoenix.

 

I have read some great reviews of Phoenix. I also have had good luck at Foreign Car Specialists. There's a mechanic there named George who has a good reputation as a Subaru guy.

anyway, back to the issue...maybe the temperature sensor for the gauge is just acting funny and causing weird readings. i would think air temperature from the vents would be the way to test this. if the air is warm and your temp. gauge is still low, it's incorrect. (right?)

 

andrew

I don't thnk that's the case b/c it blew continually cooler air...is this a heater core issue?

OK the temperiture gauage is telling you the coolant is cold, has nothing to do with the heater core. This will also effect your gas milage. Since you have no heat i am going to assume the gauge is right. My first suspsion is that your thermostat is stuck wide open. My second suspsions is are your electric cooling fans on? They basically take a vacation from dec-march in some climates. ANother thing to check is your radiator cap. Replace that since its the cheapest and easiest. Also when was the last time you had the cooling system serviced?

 

 

nipper

Yes, an old or non-genuine thermostat could produce these symptoms.

I appreciate the info on repair shops in Madison, it's something I also need to research!

 

Perhaps someone could comment on another possible thermostat issue. Would a non-working thermostat cause the warm air to be too warm that is blowing on the driver's foot? Is this an issue for Subaru's in general? After the car heats up, the air in the floor vent is very warm, even if the Climate Control is set on 68 or 67. Obviously, changing the venting to Defrost turns off the floor vent, but in general, I'm wondering if this is abnormal.

 

Sorry to hijack the thread.

Nipper-The cooling system was serviced 40K ago so I should def have that done. The t-stat was also replaced then with oem so should be fine.

 

What would effect my mpg? I think it is down lately but was assuming b/c I've done so much city driving lately.

 

About the rad cap...do I need OEM or will anything work?

 

In general how serious of a problem do you think this is? Critical or just annoying?

 

Thanks everyone.

I think it's just the cold here in WI. I had my temp gauge go all the way to cold on the way home Monday driving 80-85 on the expressway. The heat also went away, and started blowing cold air. I figured the electric fans were stuck on or something, so I cut up a piece of cardboard and slid it in between the radiator and AC condensor. I covered up about 1/3 of the radiator and haven't had the issue since then. It is possible to freeze the radiatior solid, so I guess I will have to check and replace the coolant mixture. I just picked up the car a few weeks ago, so I guess the mixture is off.