When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
just got this code today.. how bad is it to drive the car as such before doing a fix.
You can drive for a while if you need to but just watch temp gauge to make sure temps don’t spike. Usually the thermostat is stuck open which means your engine won’t heat up to optimal running temp but if the thermostat isn’t working normally, it’s possible (but not likely) it could close and not open which would cause it to overheat quickly and cause major engine damage.
With a functioning thermostat, coolant temps should get to ~195 degrees within 5-7 minutes of normal driving.
I would just replace it as soon as reasonably possible. If you are a DIY guy, it’s a fairly straightforward DIY project if you have the tools. I just replaced the thermostat on my ‘11 a few weeks ago.
so for three days the weather here in cali was nice, fairly cool and the coolant temp seemed to come up as usual, As you said 5-7 min even with the cel on . It seemed maybe the oil temp was taking its time...Maybe just me thinking that
yesterday the cel turned off and again no silliness with temps. I think ill watch it and see what happens. I had cleared the code after the cel had gone off.
so for three days the weather here in cali was nice, fairly cool and the coolant temp seemed to come up as usual, As you said 5-7 min even with the cel on . It seemed maybe the oil temp was taking its time...Maybe just me thinking that
yesterday the cel turned off and again no silliness with temps. I think ill watch it and see what happens. I had cleared the code after the cel had gone off.
Oil temps will take ~10-12 minutes to get up to ~200 degrees or about double the amount of time it takes for the coolant to get to temp so that’s normal.
Regardless of ambient temps outside, your coolant temp should remain in the 195-210 degree range after the car is running for 5-7 minutes. If temps are consistently lower than that after 7 minutes, your thermostat is not working properly and should be replaced.
For reference, my wife's Acadia just got this code, p0128, exact same reason. However on the GM, its puts it in to a limp mode, disables the AC, partial power steering, fan go on full blast.
Apparently its common, and cost about $2,000 at the dealer.
I of course will be DIYing it for about $90. looks like a much easier job on the m157 however
yeah ill keep an eye out on it and monitor the numbers. Will be doing OC to SD drive tomorrow so hopefully no issues.
then comes the question.....if im doing the thermostat.... do i do the water pump while im there
Im sure the shop i take it to will provide me with that option
Oil temps will take ~10-12 minutes to get up to ~200 degrees or about double the amount of time it takes for the coolant to get to temp so that’s normal.
Regardless of ambient temps outside, your coolant temp should remain in the 195-210 degree range after the car is running for 5-7 minutes. If temps are consistently lower than that after 7 minutes, your thermostat is not working properly and should be replaced.
Good luck!
So still watching my numbers
coolant temp seems to come up and stay at the correct temps at the right time frame. Weather has been cold here so temp runs around 180-190 even after 20 min of driving.
Oil on the other hand, really is taking its time to come up... after 25 min of 70mph i was still at 175-185 F. I dont know if its just my paranoia or it actually is just something going on and is really slow.
If my stat is stuck open would that be affecting both fluids
coolant temp seems to come up and stay at the correct temps at the right time frame. Weather has been cold here so temp runs around 180-190 even after 20 min of driving.
Oil on the other hand, really is taking its time to come up... after 25 min of 70mph i was still at 175-185 F. I dont know if its just my paranoia or it actually is just something going on and is really slow.
If my stat is stuck open would that be affecting both fluids
coolant temp seems to come up and stay at the correct temps at the right time frame. Weather has been cold here so temp runs around 180-190 even after 20 min of driving.
Oil on the other hand, really is taking its time to come up... after 25 min of 70mph i was still at 175-185 F. I dont know if its just my paranoia or it actually is just something going on and is really slow.
If my stat is stuck open would that be affecting both fluids
Oil will definitely take more time to come up to temp than coolant. Watching temps more closely, my coolant steady state with the new thermostat is 195 and oil steady state hangs between 205-210 once up to temp, typically ~12-15 minutes after a cold start. I see you have a 2012 turbo motor and I have a 2011 NA motor so not sure if the 2012+ turbo motors are designed to operate at slightly different temps than the NA motors..
On your coolant temps influencing oil temps question, a stuck open thermostat would definitely have in impact on the rate that oil temps rise since a closed thermostat is designed to get the entire motor up to temp quicker (which would directly influence oil temp) before the thermostat gradually opens fully.
Originally Posted by vdubpower
yeah ill keep an eye out on it and monitor the numbers. Will be doing OC to SD drive tomorrow so hopefully no issues.
then comes the question.....if im doing the thermostat.... do i do the water pump while im there
Im sure the shop i take it to will provide me with that option
The thermostat is on the top of the motor and the water pump is on the bottom of the motor and you can access the thermostat without touching anything related to the thermostat so there is no labor savings of doing them together. And if they have to do the water pump at some point in the future, the coolant can be drained and reused if you replace the coolant now along with the thermostat.
If you have 80k+ miles on your car, the bearing is probably getting close to the end of it's useable life. Your shop can easily do a quick check on the bearing by removing the belt and grabbing/turning the pulley to see if there is any play or noise in the bearing. More than likely, that test will not reveal anything with the bearing so ultimately it is up to you on whether to replace it now vs potentially having it go unexpectedly in the future or being inconvenienced again with another visit to the shop in the future.
Thanks for the replies great info
so on my 25 min drive today in the rain I reached 175 oil towards the end of the trip, and coolant at normal pace. What was most noticeable was the cel turned back on. I'll read it shortly but I suspect it will be 0128 again... Hopefully nothing worse. Will let you guys know
Thanks for the replies great info
so on my 25 min drive today in the rain I reached 175 oil towards the end of the trip, and coolant at normal pace. What was most noticeable was the cel turned back on. I'll read it shortly but I suspect it will be 0128 again... Hopefully nothing worse. Will let you guys know
Then the tstat is failing ... if you're still getting the CEL
No CEL but was having coolant temps variations, seemingly way higher than ever under conditions that one would think wouldn't put a big load on the engine (normal highway cruising, ambient 75 degree).
Took the car in for a leaking coolant reservoir and the tech also noted a cracked turbo coolant line. Pulled the t-stat as part of the service but did not replace.
Get the car back and immediately notice coolant temps are back within normal expectations for both normal and hard driving conditions.
Who knows, complicated car with lots of failure points. Could be anything.
09-03-2020, 01:04 PM
