Equinox keeps overheating, get the car checked out it shows nothing wrong with it. WTH??

[Ed W]

Equinox 2006, keeps overheating, get the car checked out it shows nothing wrong with it. So I think I am in the clear and it is fixed, until it is not. I live in Arizona, this is not the kind of thing that one can take lightly.

Let me start at the beginning...Some time shortly after I bought the car, while I was driving one evening (in winter) suddenly all the lights came on and the car stalled out. It had boiled over ...I was able to restate it and drive a block or so vback to where I cam e from & get it towed. Turns out it was blown gaskets? Or something like that. It was under warranty so I was not that upset & took it tothe dealers to be repaired.

Then my engine light kept coming on all the time, then it would go off, them come on again for a time and then off and son. Finally I went to Auto zone and they told me I needed a new thermostat because the car was running "too cold" and that could be detrimental to the car "somewhere on down the line" Frankly it sounds like BS to me and a car that always runs too cold, is a dream come true for someone in AZ. Nonetheless since I had to get tags sooner or later I replaced it to get the light to shut off. No problems for a while, although the temp of the car normally never ran much higher than it did with the bad thermostat. Then one day about a year ago i was driving somewhere and was lost so I had to stop and call for directions and I noticed that the temp gage was going way up while I was stopped. It want back to normal when I was driving. I just chalked it up to sitting too long. Then in the summer I was driving downtown looking for parking and then I noticed that the gauge was buried in the red and the car was steaming. I was lucky that there was a place to park right in the front of the garage and that the attendant was nice and gave me an all day pass. I had it towed home and when the mechanic looked it over he said he could find nothing wrong and that the fluid was empty. I had just had my oil changed a couple days before that& could not figure out why that would be, as I expected that they would fill that. So no problems for a few months then one day in December I was driving down the freeway and I felt the car start to lose power, so I started to get poff the freeway then I noticed that dam gauge was buried in the red. After a nightmare with the horrible towing service, I got home 4.5 hours later and the next day the mechanic says nothing wring except a bad radiator cap or the cap to that overflow chamber. No more problems for s few months, except a couple times if I stopped to make a call or sasomething I noticed it would get warm. I don't ever stop anymore with the motor running and check the fluid level often. It is not leaking. I even put in some of that stop leak stuff, I hope that was not a mistake.....

Now last week I was stuck in traffic and after a long time waiting it went from the normal spot to bam, in the red. I laid on the horn and lucky, people let me out and I waited in a parking lot for a while and checked the fluid level and it was just fine. Fluid was full but the car was still over heating WTH is going on??? Next week I was driving at night and it was fine for several miles and then two blocks from home, bam the car stops while I am at the red light. I was able to get it started and pull into a parking lot. Lucky it was night and it cooled quick and I dashed home quick. My husband then changed the thermostat and it helped NOTHING.
I am at my wits end, the mechanic cannot figure it out, there is fluid in the reservoir what the heck can this be??? After he put the new thermostat in he couldn't even drive around the block without it boiling over, so now it does not want to cool at all.
I had a car once that had a bad A/C system, because the air was cold but did not come out of the vents. I was told I needed some parts replaced when I took it in for something else and it turned out that one was some kind of sensor and it fixed the A/C problem by making the blower work. Instead of this blower just working because it was turned on, it had to be controlled by some kind of sensor. WTH??

So I got to thinking is there a sensor thing-a-ma-jig that controls this thermostat in lieu of it working manually? Could that be the problem? Or do these systems or lines get clogged up? I see some talk of a sensor here, but nothing that I see so far relates to my problem.

Cam anyone advise please, I am going CRAZY I live in AZ, it is 130 degrees in the summer and one cannot have a car that over heats.

I will be so grateful for any help!!!

[MikeCStig]

Being in Arizona this time of year, I'm willing to bet it's been a while since you turned the heat on in your car. This may sound a bit whacky, but bear with me. Keep a close eye on the temperature gauge and the next time you see the temperature running above average, pull over and park the car, but don't shut the engine down. Roll down all the windows and turn the heat on full blast (you'll probably want to get out of the car, which is fine as long as you can see the temperature gauge.) The first thing you'll want to make note of is if there's hot air coming out of the vents (hotter than the air outside). If there isn't, there's something wrong with your heater core, like coolant not flowing in. Also, check the floor on both the driver and passenger side to see if the carpet/floor mats are getting wet. If they are, your heater core is leaking.
If the vents blow hot air like they should, watch the temperature gauge. It should start slowly going down to the normal range within about 10 minutes. If it doesn't, but you're still getting hot air through the vents, there's a coolant flow problem somewhere else in the system, or there's air in the system. If the temperature goes down like it should, the only other thing I can think of is the radiator fan. If the temperature is above average and the fan isn't running, that's a problem. That would be something to do with a bad switch or temperature sensor.

[Ruley73]

Originally Posted by Ed W

Equinox keeps overheating, get the car checked out it shows nothing wrong with it. So I think I am in the clear and it is fixed, until it is not. I live in Arizona, this is not the kind of thing that one can take lightly.

Let me start at the beginning...Some time shortly after I bought the car, while I was driving one evening (in winter) suddenly all the lights came on and the car stalled out. It had boiled over ...I was able to restate it and drive a block or so vback to where I cam e from & get it towed. Turns out it was blown gaskets? Or something like that. It was under warranty so I was not that upset & took it tothe dealers to be repaired.

Then my engine light kept coming on all the time, then it would go off, them come on again for a time and then off and son. Finally I went to Auto zone and they told me I needed a new thermostat because the car was running "too cold" and that could be detrimental to the car "somewhere on down the line" Frankly it sounds like BS to me and a car that always runs too cold, is a dream come true for someone in AZ. Nonetheless since I had to get tags sooner or later I replaced it to get the light to shut off. No problems for a while, although the temp of the car normally never ran much higher than it did with the bad thermostat. Then one day about a year ago i was driving somewhere and was lost so I had to stop and call for directions and I noticed that the temp gage was going way up while I was stopped. It want back to normal when I was driving. I just chalked it up to sitting too long. Then in the summer I was driving downtown looking for parking and then I noticed that the gauge was buried in the red and the car was steaming. I was lucky that there was a place to park right in the front of the garage and that the attendant was nice and gave me an all day pass. I had it towed home and when the mechanic looked it over he said he could find nothing wrong and that the fluid was empty. I had just had my oil changed a couple days before that& could not figure out why that would be, as I expected that they would fill that. So no problems for a few months then one day in December I was driving down the freeway and I felt the car start to lose power, so I started to get poff the freeway then I noticed that dam gauge was buried in the red. After a nightmare with the horrible towing service, I got home 4.5 hours later and the next day the mechanic says nothing wring except a bad radiator cap or the cap to that overflow chamber. No more problems for s few months, except a couple times if I stopped to make a call or sasomething I noticed it would get warm. I don't ever stop anymore with the motor running and check the fluid level often. It is not leaking. I even put in some of that stop leak stuff, I hope that was not a mistake.....

Now last week I was stuck in traffic and after a long time waiting it went from the normal spot to bam, in the red. I laid on the horn and lucky, people let me out and I waited in a parking lot for a while and checked the fluid level and it was just fine. Fluid was full but the car was still over heating WTH is going on??? Next week I was driving at night and it was fine for several miles and then two blocks from home, bam the car stops while I am at the red light. I was able to get it started and pull into a parking lot. Lucky it was night and it cooled quick and I dashed home quick. My husband then changed the thermostat and it helped NOTHING.
I am at my wits end, the mechanic cannot figure it out, there is fluid in the reservoir what the heck can this be??? After he put the new thermostat in he couldn't even drive around the block without it boiling over, so now it does not want to cool at all.
I had a car once that had a bad A/C system, because the air was cold but did not come out of the vents. I was told I needed some parts replaced when I took it in for something else and it turned out that one was some kind of sensor and it fixed the A/C problem by making the blower work. Instead of this blower just working because it was turned on, it had to be controlled by some kind of sensor. WTH??

So I got to thinking is there a sensor thing-a-ma-jig that controls this thermostat in lieu of it working manually? Could that be the problem? Or do these systems or lines get clogged up? I see some talk of a sensor here, but nothing that I see so far relates to my problem.

Cam anyone advise please, I am going CRAZY I live in AZ, it is 130 degrees in the summer and one cannot have a car that over heats.

I will be so grateful for any help!!!

What year is the Equinox and which engine does it have? The only suggestion I can give is to make sure the cooling fans are working. They should always turn on whenever the A/C is switched on if the A/C is functional.

[Ed W]

I do not know the size where does it tell that ? It is a 2006 of course the year, THEY SHOULD HAVE STARTED THE RECALL.

[Ed W]

Thanks Mike,

The fan works and I think the heater works fine. I am not sure what you are saying about the heat business though. Are you saying If I turn the heat or the A/C on the gauge should go back down? ??

"If there isn't, there's something wrong with your heater core, like coolant not flowing in." I have no clue? You mean if there is no heat, there is no coolant flowing?

"Also, check the floor on both the driver and passenger side to see if the carpet/floor mats are getting wet. If they are, your heater core is leaking." <<<Is this with the A/C or the heater on?

The fan works fine, so does that rule out the sensor thing? About this>>>> "If the vents blow hot air like they should, watch the temperature gauge. It should start slowly going down to the normal range within about 10 minutes. If it doesn't, but you're still getting hot air through the vents, there's a coolant flow problem somewhere else in the system, or there's air in the system." How does one diagnose these issues? I am not sure that I can leave the car running for 10 minutes anymore. The problem has been on going and I guess getting worse. The vehicle is not drivable, nor can it idle anymore with out the running in the red right away.

Thanks.

[aleekat]

I really hate to say it but. With all the instances of overheating. Your engine may be toast. You really need to get it to a mechanic.
There is no sensor for the thermostat, mechanical only.

Edit: Or maybe it's a water pump failure.
https://www.gatestechzone.com/en/pro...-failure-signs

[MikeCStig]

The heat runs on the engine's coolant flowing through the heater core and fans blowing the air through. Turning on the heat will keep air flowing through the heater core which help bring the coolant temperature down. Running the A/C won't help at all, if anything it will put more strain on the engine and make things worse. If the heat doesn't work, then yes there is something wrong with the heater core.

If the floor is wet that means the heater core is leaking. It will do that whether the the heat is on, the A/C is on, or everything is off. Any time the engine is running the heater core will leak if that is the problem.

If the radiator fan is working but the engine is still overheating, that usually means one of two things. Either there's air in the cooling system (which is difficult to diagnose) or you have a bad water pump.

This sounds pretty serious and like aleekat said, you need a mechanic. I'm not sure about your engine being toast, but definitely find a good honest mechanic to check it over.

[johnholl]

Very good chance either the head or intake manifold gaskets failed AGAIN. Yup good ol GM.

Here's what you do.

fill with 50/50 antifreeze and water. I prefer premixed. It's easier, and i have hard water.

Next. purchase a small bottle of ultraviolet coolant additive and poor the contents into the recovery tank. purchase an ultraviolet flashlight.

Next. Run the engine for a day, wait till dark. shut the car off and inspect the engine hoses and radiator for leaks. any coolant leak will phosphoress under the
black light.

if you have no external leaks, the coolent is leaking internally.

if this is so....

purchase a bottle of KSEAL HEAD GASKET REPAIR. follow directions. with engine cold add contents to overflow tank. fill overflow tank to half-full. start the engine, let engine run a bit till warm with the cap off to allow trapped air to escape. if overflow tank start to overflow shut engine off. replace cap

wait a day

next morning. is the overflow tank still half full? if not remove the cap again. put a little more coolent in . the coolent level will rise when you unscrew the pressure cap, this is normal. start the engine with the cap off . let it warm up some to allow any remaining air to escape. replace cap. the important thing is to check the level of coolent in the overflow tank every morning to be sure it stays at the same level. if it stays at the same level the kseal worked. That's what i had to use.

[johnholl]

good chance the dealer knew it was bad when you bought it. There will be no recall because it is not a safety issue. The 3.1L vg engine was also bad. They sold millions. GM blamed Dexcool. coolant

[rhandwor]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222346014700/<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/www.ebay.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.ebay.com/

[rhandwor]

If you have combustible gas in the radiator I would upgrade your ride.
The engine is probably damaged beyond repair for a reasonable price.

[johnholl]

furthermore, i would advise anyone who presently has Dexcool in their cooling system, replace it ASAP with a good universal 50/50 coolant. Dexcool ruins the GM engine gaskets, which are substandard to begin with.