2017+ Elantra 2.0L owners - Coolant Temp Test!....

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Don't wanna sound rude, but good luck finding someone @ -24F or colder at the moment with a 2017 + 2.0 Elantra on here and than asking them to do such a test.

My VW: 6 F outside, 166.6 F from the front vents, 141 F from the rear passenger center console vent*, didn't measure the vents under the seats, 116 F at chin level.

*rare feature in a small car to have rear passenger vents for AC and heat.



 
We've gotten to 0°F in the mornings once or twice and had nary an issue with the car's water temperature. Heat on defrost, full blast.
 
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
I'd follow Scotty Kilmer's advice and not buy Korean cars.


Make sure you follow his practices for being under cars.
 
Pretty common issue up here in Canada.
I've had similar issues with a 97 Escort as well as our last 07 Ford Focus.
Basically in winter, the heater will only push out tepid heat (at best).

Over Christmas my spouse and I rented a 2017 Jetta with the 1.4 gas and turbo engine. When driving downhill, you could observe the temp guage dropping all the way down to C (cold) when the temps were hovering around -18C or 0f. Same issue as your Hyundai.

I compare that to any other car I've owned including the Lexus (or BMW) in my sig that will basically cook you out of the car if the heater is left on the highest heat (not fan) setting. Actually on the Lexus there's a common complaint of cracking/popping sounds when the heat is on high in cold weather (mine does this too). Nothing wrong, just something you notice.

in conclusion, if you want a better heater, buy a better car.
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Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
Pretty common issue up here in Canada.
I've had similar issues with a 97 Escort as well as our last 07 Ford Focus.
Basically in winter, the heater will only push out tepid heat (at best).

Over Christmas my spouse and I rented a 2017 Jetta with the 1.4 gas and turbo engine. When driving downhill, you could observe the temp guage dropping all the way down to C (cold) when the temps were hovering around -18C or 0f. Same issue as your Hyundai.

I compare that to any other car I've owned including the Lexus (or BMW) in my sig that will basically cook you out of the car if the heater is left on the highest heat (not fan) setting. Actually on the Lexus there's a common complaint of cracking/popping sounds when the heat is on high in cold weather (mine does this too). Nothing wrong, just something you notice.

in conclusion, if you want a better heater, buy a better car.
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Good eye!.. my bad!.

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I'm pretty sure you meant 24 F or below, not -24.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy

in conclusion, if you want a better heater, buy a better car.
thumbsup2.gif



Or perhaps learn to diagnose such an issue and recognize it as a problem instead if dismissing it as normal because the car is cheap.


No.

Either pony up the coin for a better car or stop complaining.
 
Please dont derail my thread..

Looking for 2017+ Elantra 2.0L that can perform the same test as per the video..

Thank you to all 2017+ owners for your efforts..


Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy

in conclusion, if you want a better heater, buy a better car.
thumbsup2.gif



Or perhaps learn to diagnose such an issue and recognize it as a problem instead if dismissing it as normal because the car is cheap.


No.

Either pony up the coin for a better car or stop complaining.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy

in conclusion, if you want a better heater, buy a better car.
thumbsup2.gif



Or perhaps learn to diagnose such an issue and recognize it as a problem instead if dismissing it as normal because the car is cheap.


No.

Either pony up the coin for a better car or stop complaining.


Don't be silly, the elantra is not a crummy car, and its probably just a bad thermostat. OP I will have my son watch his next time its that cold here( he has a 17 elantra 2.0 mpfi). My 13 1.8 does not do that.
 
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Thanks ..if he can follow the same process as per the video. that would be great!..

thanks again..

Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy

in conclusion, if you want a better heater, buy a better car.
thumbsup2.gif



Or perhaps learn to diagnose such an issue and recognize it as a problem instead if dismissing it as normal because the car is cheap.


No.

Either pony up the coin for a better car or stop complaining.


Don't be silly, the elantra is not a crummy car, and its probably just a bad thermostat. OP I will have my son watch his next time its that cold here( he has a 17 elantra 2.0 mpfi). My 13 1.8 does not do that.
 
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CB900F2,

What's happening here is when you have the heater on the coolant circulates through the heater core which is really just a small radiator. When you put the fan on high, the heat transfer across the core is just too much for that engine, in those environmental conditions.

Remember that, in your video, you had only driven 2.5 miles when you started the heater. Yes, the coolant temperature had normalized but it's doubtful the oil temperature was even close to stabilizing, therefore it influenced your results.

And because the heater core is removing heat from the coolant, lots on high fan, it's likely that the thermostat closes in a valiant attempt to control the temperature, but the coolant is still circulating through another radiator, the heater core. Remember, the thermostat merely regulates coolant flow from the head and block water passages back to the radiator. It can be closed stopping the coolant from exiting the head & block but it has nothing to do with coolant flowing through the heater core when you request it.

The fact that this is a 2017 model which warms up (coolant temperature-wise) within 2.5 miles on a cold startup at 20°F. tells me the thermostat is fine.

If you try this test with the blower fan on a more moderate setting, the BTUs rejected by the core may lower enough to keep the engine temperature up.

Many of the newer small engines display this same issue. It's just a matter of physics, you are just using a different radiator, effectively bypassing the thermostat.

I'm interested to see what the dealer has to say. And yes, I agree the design sucks. Maybe if it was -20°F., sure.

Take care,
Gary
 
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CB900F2,

I slept on your problem and I want to add the following information:

If Hyundai did their homework when they engineered & sized the heater core, taking into account the following factors:

1. heater blower motor output (cfm) and resultant BTU loss across the core
2. size of the passenger compartment
3. engine head and block coolant passage volume,

then it is possible to maintain control of the engine coolant temperature (in other words, thermostat valve needing to be slightly open), as long as environmental conditions are not too extreme. At some point, if the outside temperature is too low, aka Garak Saskatchewan cold, no matter how sophisticated the design, the heat loss across the heater core (when using the heater, of course) will make it impossible for the coolant temperature to remain elevated, regardless of the thermostat closing.

Having louvers or a grill that blocks more of the outside air flowing over the engine cooling it can definitely help. The more extreme the environment the more modifications are needed. Imagine operating the vehicle in Siberia this January with sub -60°C temperatures (-76°F.)! There any heater use would likely make proper coolant temperature problematic, unless the above airflow blocking strategies were employed.

These small, high compression engines (direct injected 12.0+ CR designs or not) simply do not reject a lot of the combustion heat to the water jacket through the cylinder walls like bigger engines from years prior. That is why many diesel engines utilize electric heaters.

Or, the thermostat, when it should be absolutely closed, is open just the smallest amount. You wouldn't notice its effect when you're not using the heater, particularly in high fan mode, or during warmer weather, but under your conditions and usage pattern, it is just enough to make a difference. Years ago I would remove the suspected bad thermostat from the engine and would, more often than not, see it not fully closed in my hand. Most of them were rated to be .003" open at the nominal opening temperature so it doesn't take much to cause a problem.

Hope this clarifies what goes on in your engine regarding coolant temperature vs. heater output and the balance needed.

And I also hope the dealer says, yep our system is properly engineered to give control down to, say -30°C, your thermostat must be defective, replaces it under warranty, and voila, problem solved!

Good luck,
Gary
 
There is another option, the temperature gauge is not showing properly what is going on. We as human beings are analog by nature, so when we see the needle move from cold to the operating temp, we assume that it represents a swing from ambient to roughly 190F.
Fact is that the needle can be showing full operating temp. much earlier, like at 120F.
I know that in my Mazda 3, when the coolant temp gauge reaches normal, the heat coming out of the vents is not at its hottest. It will get hotter for few more minutes, indicating that the coolant temp is still rising.

What I would suggest, since we don't know how the temp. gauge is calibrated, is to stick a temp gauge in the vents. If the temp. of the air coming out of the vents does not drop with the coolant gauge, I don't think there is a problem, other than the annoyance. But if the air temp. also drops significantly, then that's a problem. 20F is nowhere near cold enough to cancel out the heat being produced by the engine.
 
KrisZ,

Although it's true that we don't have specific numbers as to what his coolant temperature was in the video when the temperature gauge was at its highest reading, or when it was at its lowest reading near the end of the video, I am confident there was a substantial drop in the coolant temperature.

And yes, referring to your observation on your heater vent temperature not bring at its maximum until a few minutes after the temperature gauge stabilizes at its highest reading, my 2013 Cruze acts similarly. When I hooked a OBDII reader up and used the TorquePro app to monitor the coolant temperature from cold to warmed up the graduations on the gauge from cold (219.2F gauge needle did not deviate. Many cars do this with the oil pressure gauge too. All to avoid customers complaining over every deviation which a fully responsive non-damped gauge would show.

But again, we are seeing something different here. I believe the engine coolant temperature is falling, guessing by 30-40°F.

Take care,
Gary
 
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy


No.

Either pony up the coin for a better car or stop complaining.

Because MSRP directly correlates to heater output... seriously?
 
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