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Home / Symptoms / Engine Temperature Light

Four common causes for an “engine temperature” light on the vehicle and their related parts.

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Is Your Car's Engine Temperature Warning Light On?

The engine temperature warning light basically says, “We’re overheating.” Commonly, it pops up because the car is running low on coolant. But it can also be an airflow clog-up, broken fans, or leaks.

Watch out: Are you noticing the engine temperature warning light on your dashboard? This light is an essential indicator of something wrong with your vehicle. But don't worry; paying attention to your car's behavior and understanding how to communicate it with your local auto repair shop helps you assess the problem before it worsens and lead to costly repairs.

The most common causes for an engine temperature warning light

The most common causes for the engine temperature warning light are:

Low coolant: The coolant is a refrigerant fluid that circulates inside the engine, cooling it down while the vehicle drives. This fluid is essential to balance the engine’s temperature and keep it from overheating. Therefore, low coolant means high engine temperature, which is picked up by the vehicle’s sensors, triggering a coolant temperature warning light on the dashboard.
Faulty thermostat: The thermostat opens and closes to control the engine’s temperature. When opening, the thermostat allows coolant to reach the engine, cooling it down. However, the thermostat can fail either by getting stuck open or closed, resulting in overheating or too low temperatures. Consequently, the engine’s sensor picks up these temperature readings and shoots up a warning sign on the dashboard.
Faulty cooling fans: The radiator cooling fan helps your cooling system distribute coolant and manage airflow inside the engine compartment, keeping an optimal operating temperature. Therefore, if the cooling fan fails, your vehicle’s temperature rises, making the engine’s sensors shoot a temperature warning light to the dashboard.
Water pump leak: The water pump in your vehicle helps distribute and pressurize coolant so it reaches every component it needs to avoid overheating. However, this pump can fail, resulting in different components not receiving coolant and even coolant leaks. Consequently, the temperature in these components rises, resulting in overheating and warning lights.
Clogged airflow: A big part of a vehicle's engine coolant system is the airflow; that’s why components like cooling fans are also vital. However, debris, dust, and lack of maintenance can interrupt a cooling system's airflow. Consequently, the vehicle’s temperature rises, leading to an overheating engine; there’s not enough ventilation, and a temperature warning light pops up on the dashboard.
Faulty coolant temperature sensor: A coolant temperature sensor constantly provides the vehicle’s computer with temperature readings about the coolant. However, this sensor can fail, resulting in wrong readings, and prompting the vehicle to use coolant incorrectly. For instance, the faulty sensor can tell the coolant temperature is low, while in reality, it’s not, so the vehicle uses that not-so-cool coolant in the engine, which doesn’t refrigerate effectively. Consequently, heat builds up and the temperature warning light pops up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is your car notifying you about the engine temperature?

Your car's engine temperature light informs you of something wrong with your car's cooling system. If the light comes on, there's not enough coolant to keep the engine cool. It could be because of a leak in the cooling system since the coolant's quantity should never change.

If you notice fluid puddles of different colors in your vehicle's parking spots, the red check engine light on the dashboard, pinging sounds from the engine, and heater malfunction save this information; they're essential if you go to an auto shop later.
Have your car's heater output temperature changed?

The thermostat controls the flow of coolant in the engine based on temperature. It only opens when the engine gets hot enough. But if the thermostat wrongfully remains open, extra coolant flows through the engine, not allowing it to get hot enough to run correctly. This can cause emissions problems.

If you notice the red check engine light on the dashboard, gurgling sounds from the engine compartment/under the dashboard, and steam coming from the hood, save this information; they're essential if you go to an auto shop later.
Have you checked if the electric fans are running underhood when the engine overheats?

The engine cooling fans help keep the engine cool by blowing air over the radiator. They turn on when the engine gets too hot, usually around 210 degrees, and turn off at 195 degrees. They also operate when the air conditioning is active to help cool the condenser.

If you notice the engine overheating during traffic stops, A/C malfunction, lack of fan noise when driving the vehicle, and steam coming from the hood, save this information; they're essential if you go to an auto shop later.
Do you notice fluid puddles below your vehicle?

The water pump is a car part that moves coolant through the engine and radiator, cooling the system. It gets power from a belt, chain, or motor. The water pump has bearings and seals that can wear over time, leading to leaks. If the water pump is worn out, coolant may leak out of a small hole (weep hole) on the engine, requiring replacement.

If you notice the heater malfunctioning, A/C malfunction, red check engine light, gurgling noises from the engine/dashboard, and steam coming from the hood, save this information; they're essential if you go to an auto shop later.
Is there a lot of leaves, bugs, and other debris blocking the area behind your car's grill?

The radiator keeps your engine cool by removing heat from the coolant through airflow. The coolant flows inside the radiator, and air flows over the outside fins, transferring heat away. Any restriction in the air or coolant flow makes it harder for the radiator to remove heat from the coolant. Consequentially, your engine overheats.

If you notice the heater malfunctioning, A/C malfunction, pinging sounds coming from the engine, red check engine light, gurgling noises from the engine/dashboard, and steam coming from the hood, save this information; they're essential if you go to an auto shop later.
Have you noticed any change in your vehicle's fuel economy?

The engine coolant temperature sensor tells the car's computer the current engine temperature. Then, the computer uses this information to control fuel usage in the engine. The engine may use unrecommended fuel quantity if the sensor is not working correctly. This can affect your car's fuel efficiency.

If you notice the red check engine light, coolant temperature light, heater malfunction, and temperature gauge underperformance, save this information; they're essential if you go to an auto shop later.

Typical fixes to address the cause(s)

These are typical processes and repair services that fix a check engine light issue

The most common cause: Low Coolant

The most common reason for a car dashboard to show an engine temperature warning light is because of low coolant. The engine heavily relies on a cooling system consisting of proper airflow and fluid refrigeration. The coolant, a liquid refrigerant that absorbs heat quickly, is an essential part of the engine’s cooling. The coolant passes through the engine, removing its heat, and preventing it from overheating. The cycle is: the coolant leaves the radiator, passes through the engine, and returns to the radiator.

Symptoms it causes: Apart from the engine temperature warning light, you might notice engine overheating, weak heater, engine misfires, smoke from the hood, etc.
High risk of priority: Low coolant means that the engine is overheating, which can result in extreme temperatures that damage internal components and the combustion process. Eventually, the engine might suffer extreme damage and even break down.

How exactly does the coolant level drop?

Coolant refill or replacement isn’t as regular as oil changes. The typical range in which coolant is checked and serviced is after 30,000 miles at least. Also, coolant doesn’t drop in level naturally; it isn’t supposed to evaporate or get dirty regularly. Therefore, the reason for the coolant level to drop drastically is a leak in the system.

Go safe: Ask for a mechanic to inspect your vehicle’s cooling system (radiator, engine, coolant lines, etc.) to investigate the low coolant fluid issue and see if it means further damage. Many shops do transparent vehicle inspections and lay out your options after investigating your vehicle’s conditions.

What’s a vehicle inspection? It’s “detective work” on your vehicle, checking its systems to find if anything is preventing the car from working as expected. In this case, mechanics examine different parts of your vehicle to track what’s causing the coolant level to drop drastically. They’ll also check the condition of components during their inspection, noting which are causing the problem and which got affected by it, recommending to replace them in order of priority.

Transparency example in a low coolant service

A cooling system inspection is the most transparent process to understand why your vehicle’s coolant level is low. Let’s read an example of how this kind of inspection defines the service needed to fix a low coolant volume in a vehicle.

In a scheduled service, a customer stated their car’s dashboard was displaying an engine temperature warning light; they also mentioned noticing puddles and spots under the vehicle, from ‘some liquid that seem to be coming from the car,’ in their words. The technician opened the vehicle’s hood and inspected the engine compartment, only to find leak signs in the radiator.

In a closer look, it seemed that the radiator was leaking due to some tear damage, meaning the radiator probably couldn’t be properly fixed and might do better with a replacement.

A low coolant level results in bad cooling, which in turn results in engine overheating. An unhealthy rise in the engine’s temperature triggers the temperature warning light. Next, the technician planned a fix to the system, aiming to fix the leaking radiator and refill the coolant.

The image below shows the technician’s first look at the radiator leak.

Leaking radiator

In this case, the mechanic put the “Immediate Action” tag on the radiator.

Similar Symptoms

Below are just a few examples of typical Symptoms and Fixes your car might be experiencing

Four common causes for a “check engine” light on the vehicle and their related parts.

Is Your Car's Engine Temperature Warning Light On?

The most common causes for an engine temperature warning light

Frequently Asked Questions

Is your car notifying you about the engine temperature?

Have your car's heater output temperature changed?

Have you checked if the electric fans are running underhood when the engine overheats?

Do you notice fluid puddles below your vehicle?

Is there a lot of leaves, bugs, and other debris blocking the area behind your car's grill?

Have you noticed any change in your vehicle's fuel economy?

Typical fixes to address the cause(s)

The most common cause: Low Coolant

How exactly does the coolant level drop?

Transparency example in a low coolant service

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