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01-16-2012, 10:05 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 244028
Join Date: Apr 2010
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: Valsota, GA
Vehicle:2011 base WRX SWP |
2011 WRX temperature needle problem
Recently I been having problem with my temperature gauge needle. Usually after driving from a complete stop the temperature needle would drop down say half way and goes right back up. This usually happens in the morning or if the car sat the whole day, it would do this a few times and then go away for the rest of the day.
I've already check the coolant resivor bottle and its at the full mark when cold. Heres a video of the problem.
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Last edited by tomkun; 01-16-2012 at 10:08 PM. Reason: forgot link |
01-16-2012, 10:19 PM | #2 |
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Tri-State
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Vehicle:09 Wrx Rally blue |
My guess would be a bad temp sensor or wiring. There's no way the engine is actually changing temp that fast. Do you have an accesport? You could check what temp the computer is actually seeing and go from there. The guage itself is kinda rare to go bad.
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01-16-2012, 10:32 PM | #3 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 244028
Join Date: Apr 2010
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: Valsota, GA
Vehicle:2011 base WRX SWP |
I have a tactrix cable, I'll try to log the coolant temp with that. Could a loose ground wire cause the temp gauge to do that?
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01-17-2012, 12:25 PM | #4 |
Scooby Specialist
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NWIC
Location: portland, or
Vehicle:09 wrx 301hp/328tq '00 miata blue |
down nothing, up nothing, half way squeeeeeeeeeeeeek
haha yeah, bad wiring. coolant should be somewhere between 180-200F when the car is warm. log! |
01-17-2012, 01:03 PM | #5 |
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SCIC
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air in the system?
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03-13-2012, 09:55 AM | #6 |
Scooby Specialist
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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South East
Location: Knoxville, TN
Vehicle:2012 WRX Hatch Poor Man's Panamera |
OP, did you ever get this sorted?
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03-13-2012, 10:00 AM | #7 |
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Join Date: May 2011
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NESIC
Location: Marlborough, MA
Vehicle:2010 Alpine 135i |
This used to happen on my old car and it ended up being the thermostat stuck open IIRC. It was a long time ago though.
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03-13-2012, 12:19 PM | #8 |
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2011? Because warranty?
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03-13-2012, 12:19 PM | #9 |
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Join Date: Jun 2007
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Vehicle:2008 OBXT 5spd Grey |
.....
Last edited by donkey_cart; 12-13-2013 at 04:55 PM. |
03-13-2012, 12:27 PM | #10 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 226331
Join Date: Oct 2009
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Location: Knoxville, TN
Vehicle:2012 WRX Hatch Poor Man's Panamera |
I'm trying to make an appointment at my dealership right now. Mine doesn't fluctuate nearly as much, but it's still weird. I also got a whiff of coolant the other day from the back of the car. I nearly **** myself.
I will update with what they say. Car is bone stock. |
05-17-2012, 03:55 PM | #11 |
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MAIC
Location: Chantilly, VA
Vehicle:2011 WRX Dark Gray Metallic |
Hey guys, exact same problem here. I posted about it here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2213177. I still have the same problem to this day. I had a dealer drive with his diagnostic equipment hooked up, and it actually did show my engine reporting a change in temp that quickly. 2011 WRX is supposed to cruise at 190F, mine does about 180 with rapid drops to 170, or even 169. Originally I did have some thermostat problems that cause the CEL to come on. Those have been fixed, and the CEL light hasn't come on since, but my weird temp gauge movement remains.
Subaru didn't have any record of this happening to anyone else. I've seen it myself, obviously here in this thread too, and I've gotten a PM from a user on this board ("JasonC") who says he has the exact same problem. I have 7,000 miles of warranty left on my 2011. Can we band together and figure this out before then? |
05-25-2012, 12:52 PM | #12 |
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Vehicle:'11 WRX Sedan SSM |
Ya mine is moving a little just started recently.
Last edited by JasonC; 08-08-2012 at 08:46 PM. |
05-25-2012, 01:01 PM | #13 |
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Vehicle:2012 WRX Hatch Poor Man's Panamera |
If the ECU is reporting that kind of swing, then it may still be the temp sensor or maybe even air around it.
Car should run around 185*-195* while cruising down the highway and top out at 205* at idle, at which point the coolant fans will kick on. |
05-25-2012, 03:07 PM | #14 |
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Yes, I do not think the water/coolant temp is changing by 10-20 degrees in a matter of seconds. I believe that the ECU thinks it is, and compensates by dumping fuel at the lower temperature, causing the hesitation and movement back up in temp. My exhaust tips are super black (fuel) and the car does not smoke or burn any oil at all - nor do I drive it hard.
Most likely it's one of 3 things - a bad thermo sensor, bad wiring/ground, or an ECU issue. I am going to have them replace the Thermostat, Gasket and fluid on Monday as the first step. I have read one thread like this that was actually a bad water pump that was replaced under warranty - and supposedly that was his fix for similar issues. The good thing is that it's happening to others, and it looks like it's those of us who have logged a few miles (I am at 20k on my 2011). I've enlisted the help of one of the best tuners on the East Coast and he is help guide me through these issues to get them resolved under warranty as it definitely a Subaru issue. I am taking mine to dealer on Tuesday (for the 3rd time) and they are going to fix this, or the next call I make is to SOA and no one is going to like that one. Either way I will have a resolution very soon, updates as I have them. Until then we need all the people with similar issues/video to post up so we can keep record of this.....we are not crazy. Other than this annoying issue, the car is awesome. |
05-25-2012, 06:03 PM | #15 |
Scooby Newbie
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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Vehicle:2011 base WRX SWP |
The problem went away for me now. Im not sure what I did to fix/help it. I did notice that after a while the guage would just correct it self, but if I hit a bump pothole or stall the problem comes right back.
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05-25-2012, 09:10 PM | #16 | ||
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 226331
Join Date: Oct 2009
Chapter/Region:
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Location: Knoxville, TN
Vehicle:2012 WRX Hatch Poor Man's Panamera |
Quote:
Quote:
As far as I can tell, from looking at my OBD-II scan tool, at least in my case, the low mark is when it is running at about 185* and the high mark is about 205*. My gauge moves much, much slower than the one in the video. I only actually see it move if I stare at it after exiting the interstate and sitting at a stop light. Another guy in the local club could get his to do the same thing in a 2011 WRX. We logged his temps and they were the same as mine. That's when I stopped worrying about it. The video posted in the OP seems like a different issue than the one I have. Another thing I would note is that the temperature swings on the OBD-II scanner are easily seen in real time and reflect the conditions the car is in (e.g., cruising vs. stopped). However, the gauge has a significant delay in what it displays. It will only start to show the higher temp after a minute or two of sitting--even though the ECU is reporting the higher temp much, much quicker. So, when the gauge sweeps quickly, like it does in the video above, it really makes me think it is something electrical. Could be wrong, of course. |
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05-26-2012, 11:36 AM | #17 | |
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Location: Western Chicago Suburbs, IL...
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Quote:
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05-26-2012, 11:44 AM | #18 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 226331
Join Date: Oct 2009
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: Knoxville, TN
Vehicle:2012 WRX Hatch Poor Man's Panamera |
They definitely seem like they are just slapped together. I've read quite a bit about new WRX's with loose motor mounts from the factory, transmissions with no lube in them, throw out bearings with no grease on them, pistons installed backwards (front to back orientation), defective water pumps, exploding idler pulley bearings, etc. QC is not all that great at Subaru.
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05-26-2012, 12:04 PM | #19 |
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Im going to hope it lasts until fall and then im gonna dump it. Figures i just bought Works for it too FML
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05-26-2012, 08:39 PM | #20 |
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Location: Glen Mills, PA
Vehicle:2011 wrx dom3'd satin white pearl |
this is somewhat unrelated to the temperature issue in this topic, but I raised my idle by 50rpms with the AP and the car settles back to idle much better than before. I've made it a habit to change the idle setting whenever I change maps now. before the car would almost want to stall on some occasions.
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07-06-2012, 09:50 PM | #21 |
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NESIC
Vehicle:2010 wrx silver |
i have the same issue in my 2010 wrx when stoped at a light the needle is in its normal running position (half way) then when i accelerate it quickly drops down to the next notch on the gauge. car is running great and the gauge never says im overheating but it scares me. im at 23000 miles and never messed with the coolant. anyone find a fix yet???
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07-07-2012, 06:55 AM | #22 |
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I hope it doesn't turn out that they started to implement plastic impellers in the water pumps, like BMW did. BMW then moved to electric water pumps too.
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07-07-2012, 12:44 PM | #23 |
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Vehicle:2014 WRX Hatch WR Blue |
is the car still under warranty? best bet take it to the dealership if so.
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07-07-2012, 04:16 PM | #24 | |
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Quote:
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07-08-2012, 08:09 PM | #25 |
Scooby Newbie
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Join Date: Apr 2012
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Vehicle:2010 wrx silver |
im not under warranty and i am modded perrin tbe, grimmspeed uppipe tail ewg, process west top mount, ebcs, forge bpv and custome tune 280whp. i have only noticed the problem the past 6 months or so at around 20000. no one seems to know a definite fix yet... lame
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