Seriously, Gio, make sure the the system is full. 80% full will give you these kind of symptoms, too.

BTW, I LOVE this place. Maybe if I was Toby Keith, I could say, "I love this bar". I'm in that mindset. People don't always agree , and it ends up all cool. Even though I might be the only one who IS drinking atm, I am into it.

 

Change the fluid and start there! I know this isn't a fix but from what I understand you can have the fan come on earlier if you turn on your AC. also a tuner can change the fan to come on earlier. I know with my tune he has the fan come on at 200 to 210 if I remember? It's pretty normal for the car to get warmer when you step on the gas or go up a hill, Especially if you have a turbo, they get hot. but I think that's one of the HHR'S trate, they all seem to do that to a certain amount.
Tim

 

I agree with this, long life/extended life coolant, does have silicate drop out with age. That drop out causes a film to build up (or coat) the tubes of the radiator causing higher temperatures. The radiator, with it's coating, can't dissipate the heat correctly and you see higher temps under load, like going up a hill.
Drain/flush/refill and install a new thermostat to service the system correctly.
Old coolant can start to look brown also if if was red to begin with when new.

 

Thank you very much, I will for sure do both the thermostat and coolant flush.

Is the dealer the only place that should do this (because of air getting in the system I read about on here) or can I do this myself with water and what not? Is it a special process?
And I can change the thermostat myself thanks to the tutorial on here!

 

Have you ever changed the coolant on any other cars? If not, take it to ANY shop - it doesn't have to be a dealer. It is not a difficult job otherwise.

 

Yeah I have, I just read on a post earlier stating that someone was having problems with their coolant because air got in the system and they suggested to use a coolant exchange machine like the dealer had. Otherwise I'm doing it myself, cause the dealer wats over $300 for a coolant flush and temperature sensor change.

 

Just park the car front end high or jack up the right front so the air will rise to the high point

 

Ok guys I need your help.

I tried changing the coolant this weekend and was only able to drain half of a gallon.
Here are the steps i did.

1. Jacked up the car
2. removed fluid from coolant overflow
3. removed radiator cap
4. removed drain plug at bottom of radiator
5. After a half gallon drained out and nothing more, I refilled with distilled water
6. Started the car until operating temperature 190 degrees
7. let cool, and then repeated the process of draining the fluid and still only a half gallon came out???

so lastly I refilled the half gallon with dexcool and I have been driving it for two days now.

It still has its temperature problems which means half a gallon was obviously not enough, but now im thinking either I did something wrong? or my radiator is clogged? Or I was unable to get the coolant out of the engine block, which means the radiator only holds half a gallon???

Please help, thanks :)

 

I don't know about you? but things like that makes it harder for me to fall a sleep at night. If it was me I would take to the dealer or a radiator shop and just let a pro do it and be done with it. Sweet Dreams
Tim

 

x2 - take it to a shop to have it checked out. Obviously the system holds way more than half a gallon (did you check the owners manual to determine how much it actually holds before you started?)