Engine Heating Up

[husker]

I have a 98 ES300 with 125K on it. Today morning, I obeserved that after driving for kust 4 miles, the needle that shows the engine heat level went upto half-way in the dial and stayed there all the time while I was driving. Once I shut-off the engine, after a while, it came back to zero. Now my question is what is the normal acceptable heat level that I should be seeing on my indicator. B'coz, I have a 96' Honda and I have never seen the needle crossing 30%-40% of the dial, even if I am driving on a highway for 2 hrs. I checked the engine oil level, it has been replaced recently and in full level. I also checked the transmission oil and it is red in color with the correct level. I checked the engine coolant reservoir (transparant white box) and it is staying at Max level during the cold condition.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[mburnickas]

I have a 98 ES300 with 125K on it. Today morning, I obeserved that after driving for kust 4 miles, the needle that shows the engine heat level went upto half-way in the dial and stayed there all the time while I was driving. Once I shut-off the engine, after a while, it came back to zero. Now my question is what is the normal acceptable heat level that I should be seeing on my indicator. B'coz, I have a 96' Honda and I have never seen the needle crossing 30%-40% of the dial, even if I am driving on a highway for 2 hrs. I checked the engine oil level, it has been replaced recently and in full level. I also checked the transmission oil and it is red in color with the correct level. I checked the engine coolant reservoir (transparant white box) and it is staying at Max level during the cold condition.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Mine goes up to the middle and stays there all the time. When I used my scanner 3 days ago, the engine coolant temp showed to be around 188 to 191 degree F when running. (correct temp).

The outside temp will effect warmup speed. It sounds fine to me and would not worry about it.

[VGR]

Has the thermostat and thermostat gasket ever been replaced? They should be replaced about every 5 years using exact factory original replacements. The temp needle should read a little below the half way point on the dial.

Alot of owners and independent service shops install aftermarket thermostats and nearly all of them are rated to open at 195 degrees F which is too hot for a Lexus and will cause higher than normal temp gauge readings.

[exdotcomer]

my '98 with 75k miles does the same thing. once the car warms up , the needle stays in the middle of the gauge.

[husker]

Has the thermostat and thermostat gasket ever been replaced?  They should be replaced about every 5 years using  exact factory original replacements.  The temp needle should read a little below the half way point on the dial. 

Alot of owners and independent service shops install aftermarket thermostats and nearly all of them are rated to open at 195 degrees F which is too hot for a Lexus and will cause higher than normal temp gauge readings.

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I am not sure, if it's been replaced coz, I just bought this vehicle last week. But, this vehicle has a complete service history with the local dealer. Should I check with the dealer if it has been replaced ever or should I check the thermostat?

[ccp247]

I also have a '98 ES300 and the needle stays steady right below the halfway mark and never fluctuates.

I definitely agree about not using an aftermarket thermostat. I used to own a Honda Accord and the same thing applied to that vehicle. A mechanic had replaced the thermostat with an aftermarket brand and the temp was running hotter than normal at times, whereas before, the temp gauge needle would never move. When I found out an aftermarket thermostat was installed, I had the mechanic replace with a Honda thermostat and that fixed the problem.

[camlex]

nobody replace, unless it's goes bad.(Stuck)

I have same with 145,000

Mine shows little less then half.

Hope this helps.

[husker]

nobody replace, unless it's goes bad.(Stuck)

I have same with 145,000

Mine shows little less then half.

Hope this helps.

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It seems that most of the ES300 owners are experiencing the same as mine (Needle moving to the 50% of the gauge position and stays there without fluctuating). Nobody seem to experiencing any problem coz of this condition. So, I am not going to worry about this too much for now.

[VGR]

I am not sure, if it's been replaced coz, I just bought this vehicle last week. But, this vehicle has a complete service history with the local dealer. Should I check with the dealer if it has been replaced ever or should I check the thermostat?

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The Lexus dealer can give you a printout of all maintenance that has been performed since the car was new. Savvy used car buyers review these records BEFORE buying the car since they know neglected services or extended service intervals can mean expensive trouble down the road. Owners who replace normal wear items like thermostats, oxygen sensors, distributor caps, spark plug wires, etc, BEFORE they are so worn that engine performance and fuel economy deteriorates are rewarded with hundreds of thousands of miles of reliable, troublefree service from their Toyotas. Owners who have a "no need to fix what isn't broken" philosophy about Toyota preventive maintenance and repair may end up having to deal with mechanical problems that cost thousands of dollars to fix.