Low Coolant Temp

Are you extrapolating to say that the blue light is some sort of a warning (like a negative or a risk) vs just information? We all always see the temp monitor on our cars and for the first few mins (or longer in the winter) it is pegged at the bottom and then slowly rises up. If the blue light is just the equivalent of "needle at bottom" information then why do we care?

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ChrisHM said:

Hi all,

I'm a new owner of a 2023 Pilot Trailsport. Just received this month (May).

On a cold (engine not ran recently) startup I typically have a blue light come on indicating Low Coolant Temperature. This turns off in a minute. This has happened with temps around 10 degrees C (50F). I asked a service guy and he indicated it to be normal. Does this seem normal? I've never owned a vehicle that showed that, and am slightly concerned about winter operations.

Thanks

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What did the service say about driving it when it’s on or wait until it comes off? Subarus have the blue light (except for their Ascent). People go back and forth to drive it while the light is on or to wait until the light goes off for the car to get to operating temperature.

And this is what it's come to, we can't even be trusted to read a temperature gauge anymore so we need a dummy light to tell us the engine is cold.

It is to note if it DOES NOT GO OUT in a few minutes you have a cooling issue.. silly i know but that is what it says in manual..

cintocrunch said:

And this is what it's come to, we can't even be trusted to read a temperature gauge anymore so we need a dummy light to tell us the engine is cold.

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I dont see it that way

It is a choice of how many gauges we really need to be shown I guess. If something is basically always "fine" then why do we need to see it all the time as long as an alert can show us the very infrequent time when it may be "not fine" (ie a red light to warn of higher than spec temps)

On my Elite there is a temp gauge along the left side so I guess that is why I never recall seeing a blue light?

Hogan773 said:

I dont see it that way

It is a choice of how many gauges we really need to be shown I guess. If something is basically always "fine" then why do we need to see it all the time as long as an alert can show us the very infrequent time when it may be "not fine" (ie a red light to warn of higher than spec temps)

On my Elite there is a temp gauge along the left side so I guess that is why I never recall seeing a blue light?

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I'm one of those "gauge all of the things" type of people when it comes to cars. Of course, modern gauges are mostly garbage and don't actually give you useful information until a warning level is reached anyway, but that doesn't make it right.

I don't mind knowing in my Impala that the engine coolant gets to 215 while sitting idling and when moving the direct drive mechanical fan and higher flow water pump gets it to 190. Modern gauges that swing in temps wouldn't even move the needle.

ChrisHM said:

Hi all,

I'm a new owner of a 2023 Pilot Trailsport. Just received this month (May).

On a cold (engine not ran recently) startup I typically have a blue light come on indicating Low Coolant Temperature. This turns off in a minute. This has happened with temps around 10 degrees C (50F). I asked a service guy and he indicated it to be normal. Does this seem normal? I've never owned a vehicle that showed that, and am slightly concerned about winter operations.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Do you feel some heat at the vents with-in a couple of minutes after a cold start-up? If yes, I would say all is good/normal. Some heat at the vents should be felt well before normal operating temp is reached.

I observe on our Ridgeline the temp gauge needle starts to move at 130F and stops moving at 160F but actual coolant temp continues to rise to +/-180F, depending on operating conditions.

cintocrunch said:

I'm one of those "gauge all of the things" type of people when it comes to cars. Of course, modern gauges are mostly garbage and don't actually give you useful information until a warning level is reached anyway, but that doesn't make it right.

I don't mind knowing in my Impala that the engine coolant gets to 215 while sitting idling and when moving the direct drive mechanical fan and higher flow water pump gets it to 190. Modern gauges that swing in temps wouldn't even move the needle.

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Having a performance background, I’m the same way. Give me sensitive gauges that tell me every detail and I’ll figure out what I want to look at. Although with something this pedestrian, you know the reason why they don’t do that, right?

“My gauge doesn’t sit totally still in the middle, something must be wrong” - NPC

Tongue in cheek of course.

A motionless temp gauge keeps the clueless, clueless…not to mention out of service writer’s hair.🤦‍♂️

We don't have oil pressure gauges on most cars though and everyone isn't up in arms about that. We assume that if there is a problem, a warning light would tell us. I'm fine if there was a high temp warning too and no gauge

Hogan773 said:

We don't have oil pressure gauges on most cars though and everyone isn't up in arms about that. We assume that if there is a problem, a warning light would tell us. I'm fine if there was a high temp warning too and no gauge

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For a long time I was. Then I figured out there was not a damn thing I could do so I put on my big boy points and got over it.

Then I bought a scangauge so I can have 4 additional gauges up at all times.

Hogan773 said:

We don't have oil pressure gauges on most cars though and everyone isn't up in arms about that. We assume that if there is a problem, a warning light would tell us. I'm fine if there was a high temp warning too and no gauge

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….and what would the high temp be???? You can thank the Honda suits and ties for no oil pressure gauge.

PLT383 said:

….and what would the high temp be???? You can thank the Honda suits and ties for no oil pressure gauge.

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The point is, on a needle gauge you are going to be worried if it gets high and then will show a red warning. So they can just program the readout to tell you if it exceeds a level where the engineers think it is in a "danger zone". I mean there are all kinds of warning lights on the cars and there aren't "gauges" attached to every item. We don't need a gauge to show brake fluid level or brake pressure or oil pressure or oil level or whatever so I don't know why the coolant level is so important to display at all times in a gauge.

I was being facetious….or I thought I was.😉

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'm old school in expecting lights on in the dash indicate a problem. From the replies, it seems as though this is normal.

I've been in Toyota's with Blue low temp lights for years, which indicated RPM caps, transmission program changes and torque limits until the engine got above 150F or so, where the light went out. A guess, here, but the increased overhead cam complexity and other engine tweaks for this new Pilot Gen, may have warranted the "blue light".

cintocrunch said:

And this is what it's come to, we can't even be trusted to read a temperature gauge anymore so we need a dummy light to tell us the engine is cold.

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It’s not a trust thing, the gauge is not even there unless you have an Elite (and the A meter). I will not buy a scan gauge (yet) and I’m really trying to accept the “anti- driving enthusiast” nature of the Pilot.

WayneM. said:

It’s not a trust thing, the gauge is not even there unless you have an Elite (and the A meter). I will not buy a scan gauge (yet) and I’m really trying to accept the “anti- driving enthusiast” nature of the Pilot.

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This is the first time I've heard that. If it's true the new Pilot does not have even a "dummy gauge" and is just using a blue light/red light for coolant temps, I am very disappointed. Isn't half the gauge cluster digital on the lower trims? Really couldn't put it somewhere or at it as an option to scroll through? Ugh.