In regular light traffic, 75 degree weather going only 1 mile, how far should the temp gauge move? mine is going half way to the H.
thanks

 

as long as its in the normal range, you should be good. check the thermostat if it goes above

 

While not alarming, that does seem a little high. Both of the Civics I have owned have run at a couple notches below half on the temp gauge. One of those Civics had the same engine that yours does.

It's not ever going above that halfway mark, is it?


For starters, I would pop open the hood and look in the radiator. Check that the coolant is pretty clean. Also, the level of coolant should be to the bottom of the radiator filler neck. While you're at it, check the radiator reservoir (plastic bottle thing to the left of the radiator) level and make sure it is between the "min" and "max" marks on the back of it.


If the coolant is low, fill it up and look for evidence of leaks. You might even consider having your coolant drained and refilled. I see from another thread that you aren't very familiar with your car so I am not sure if I would recommend doing this yourself. I don't think it's very expensive to have a shop do it though, the cost is just labor and shop supplies. They'll probably recommend radiator hoses and thermostat being changed too. That's probably not a bad idea. It might cost you though.


I also wonder if your thermostat is OEM or OEM-spec. OEM spec is 170º. Many aftermarket ones are 180º and maybe even 190º, which will cause the engine to run hotter. The reason people use these is for better heater performance.

 

If the car is warmed up, the temp gauge should be just below or at the halfway point.

 

It should always warm up to a certain reading and stay there regardless of weather or driving conditions.

The exact location of that normal reading on the face of the gauge is not real important, but being above halfway suggests that something is wrong.

 

hey trust i was just wonderin wat did u mean by heater performance? i knw its probably a stupid question but just wonderin. btw my temp gauge shows a little below the half mark.

 

As in the heater working better

 

oh i thought so... but wat thermostat is best to use overall?

 

Well it seems ok then to be just below the halfway mark. But I will go ahead and check the radiator levels. Thanks!

 

OEM thermostats are typically 190 or 195, pretty sure that's the case with a Civic too. They only sell the other ones because people want to believe that it would somehow cure their overheating. Like so much other stuff found in a parts store that one should never buy.