Strange coolant temperatures post-flush

TurboDieselPoint

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Location
N/A
TDI
2014 Passat TDI SE 6-Speed Manual
Hi all,

As some of you might have seen in my previous thread, my car's original heater core coolant passages blocked up (cold air out of passenger side) and my core was replaced per VW's TSB. Days after getting my car back with the new core, I noticed there was still a lot of contamination in the cooling system (orange coolant and sediment) so I had the service department flush the system again.

The coolant is pink and relatively clean now. However, what is strange is that only after this second flush (not after the heater core replacement and initial flush), suddenly my car is unable to maintain the rock solid 206*F (Scangauge II) coolant temperature it always closely stuck to for the first 3 years and 31,000 miles I owned it. Now, coolant temperature bounces between 207*F and 213*F. Particularly, it loves to be between 209*F and 211*F, even when I am just cruising in light traffic at speeds less than 50 mph. Mid-regen at a steady 70 mph on flat ground (ambient temperature near freezing) gave me a max of 216*F, a temperature I have NEVER witnessed before from this car, even under the exact same conditions.

--The coolant is fresh and is a spot-on 50/50 mix (verified with refractometer).
--I attempted to burp any air from the cooling system by removing the reservoir cap and idling the car until it reached full operating temperature. This changed nothing.

What gives? :confused: Aside from air getting into the system, the only thing I could think of is that the oil cooler, EGR cooler, or thermostat got clogged or screwed up from crud stirred up from this last flush, restricting coolant flow.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:

767wrench

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Location
Ohio
TDI
1981 Rabbit Pickup
Usually this time of year my car runs anywhere from 190 to 209 or so. It fluctuates more in the winter than summer. Only time I see 215 in winter is climbing a steep grade. I feel like it runs at 209 to 215 in summer though during sustained 70+ mph driving.

I've had 2 coolant temp sensors fail and when that happened my temperatures would jump instantaneously from mid 170s all the way into the 220s and back again.

I'm trying to remember back 50k miles to when I had my heater core and clogging issues. I feel like my car used to have more of a steady temperature when new than it does now. The temperature sensor is located in one of the tubes right before it goes to the heater core. You may be onto something there with the flow around the sensor. When clogged it would make less flow and a more stable temperature at the sensor location
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Hi all,

As some of you might have seen in my previous thread, my car's original heater core coolant passages blocked up (cold air out of passenger side) and my core was replaced per VW's TSB. Days after getting my car back with the new core, I noticed there was still a lot of contamination in the cooling system (orange coolant and sediment) so I had the service department flush the system again.

The coolant is pink and relatively clean now. However, what is strange is that only after this second flush (not after the heater core replacement and initial flush), suddenly my car is unable to maintain the rock solid 206*F (Scangauge II) coolant temperature it always closely stuck to for the first 3 years and 31,000 miles I owned it. Now, coolant temperature bounces between 207*F and 213*F. Particularly, it loves to be between 209*F and 211*F, even when I am just cruising in light traffic at speeds less than 50 mph. Mid-regen at a steady 70 mph on flat ground (ambient temperature near freezing) gave me a max of 216*F, a temperature I have NEVER witnessed before from this car, even under the exact same conditions.

--The coolant is fresh and is a spot-on 50/50 mix (verified with refractometer).
--I attempted to burp any air from the cooling system by removing the reservoir cap and idling the car until it reached full operating temperature. This changed nothing.

What gives? :confused: Aside from air getting into the system, the only thing I could think of is that the oil cooler, EGR cooler, or thermostat got clogged or screwed up from crud stirred up from this last flush, restricting coolant flow.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
It sounds like you don't have a problem. It is perfectly normal for these engines to have significantly fluctuating coolant temperature. As it has been discussed in several other threads, a range of 190 - 225 is normal. I'm actually surprised that your temperature didn't fluctuate previously.
 
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