Recent slight overheating?

MSKFSH

MEMBER
2010 DODGE CALIBER
2.0L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
100,000 MILES

So, I have noticed that recently, my car's coolant temperature increases briefly 1 notch above normal operating temperature especially when idling and only when the AC is off. The coolant was flushed not long ago and looks very clean. I did burp the system yesterday and it released some bubbles, but the problem persisted. The thing that confuses me the most is why don’t the fans kick in earlier? I verified that they kick in both but only when the car overheats as described above or when I turn on A/C! Isn’t it supposed to kick in based on feedback from the temperature sensor? I checked my car model, and I don’t think it has a dedicated coolant fan switch.

Can it be the thermostat? This particular model has 2 of them! But then again, why wouldn’t the fans kick in in time if the sensor is reading the high temperature?

It’s interesting to mention that I also noticed that it takes a bit longer than before to reach the operating temperature when I first drive it in the morning.

So, in short, the car slightly overheats, fans kick in too late, but when they do the temperature goes down.

3 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
47,320 POSTS

Yep, this car has two engine coolant temperature sensors and the TIPM sends power to the fans to have them turn on. I have seen both the sensors and the TIPM fail and cause this problem. Here are the cooling fan wiring diagrams so you can check it out, also if you have a scanner, you can see the engine temperature as the computer is seeing it which might tell us the coolant sensors are bad off slightly. Also, you might have a trouble code stored in the system.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Here are the locations of the coolant sensors, also I would check the thermostat as well, if you have one stuck open it can mess up the system.

Please go over this guide as well:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

Check out the images (below). Let us know how it goes.

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