Do all Mercedes seem to run hot?

[atikovi]

Not actually hotter than other cars but it only seems that way because of how they mark the temperature gauge. You would think normal temperature would have the needle pointing right at the center of the gauge or a little below to be psychologically comforting. But on Mercedes they put 80C at the center point when the thermostat isn't full open until nearly 90C. Maybe it did back in the 60's but not now. The result being the gauge makes it appear the car is running hot when it's not. In the C300 I picked up:

I can just imagine people asking me why is the car running hot.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by atikovi
I can just imagine people asking me why is the car running hot.

Tell them that 90C = 194F, which means normal.

 

[Wolf359]

Yeah, that's pretty normal for an M272 engine. Usually between 90-100 is normal. According to the gauge, hot isn't even til you go after 120. Tell them to learn how to read a temperature gauge.

 

[E150GT]

Multiple 1980's gas and diesel Benz that I had ran at 90C. I prefer it to look like it does on that gauge. To me just having the needle sit right in the middle makes it look preprogrammed to sit there no matter the temp.

 

[pkunk]

Not just MB. My Mini (BMW) doesn't have a temp gauge but the Scangage says operating temp is 215°

 

[maxdustington]

You're the reason temp gauges are basically idiot lights now.

 

[Chris142]

I wonder if they use a cooler thermostat in other countries?

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
You're the reason temp gauges are basically idiot lights now.

 

[DallasTexas]

My 4th diesel Benz they all run normal 80-90 but in winter I put a cardboard behind my grill to keep temp up because in cooler temps all of them struggled to keep the temp up to normal operational values.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by E150GT
To me just having the needle sit right in the middle makes it look preprogrammed to sit there no matter the temp.


All Fords I've driven that are newer than about mid to late 80's have been this way. Gauge is a glorified idiot light that basically has three positions (low, cold temp), normal, and high (overheating). I've gone so far as to monitor coolant temp via OBD-II while watching the gauge during warmup and other conditions, and came to the conclusion that the gauge is NOT representative of actual coolant temp.

Same goes for their oil pressure gauges which have two positions: LOW oil pressure and HAS oil pressure.

I suspect many other vehicles are set up this way too.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
I suspect many other vehicles are set up this way too.
Yup. If the needle doesn't sit exactly in the middle, customers come to the dealer/service dept with questions. So the easiest way to stop them from asking questions was to program in a dead range into the gauge.

 

[Snagglefoot]

From yesterday. Yes, having the needle in the middle is comforting and having a 200 on the speedometer is cool. ( having a 7 on the tach is cool as well, just like having an "eleven" on your amplifier.)

 

[bachman]

My wife was gifted an 87 Seville many years ago.
The only car we ever had that was 100% digital dash board, idjit lights etc.....
I always wondered about the coolant readout but later read up on it and as posted by others, ideal range is 195 to 220.
I find 212 is listed by a few articles as a good temp for heat transfer to be most effective with regard to outside air temps ranging from summer to winter norms. The Caddy was at 212 almost all the time and my first thoughts were it being a bit hot. I always had 190 to 200 in mind as 'normal'.

I probably found info in the owners manual. I don't recall tearing around the internet much in those days.

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
From yesterday. Yes, having the needle in the middle is comforting and having a 200 on the speedometer is cool. ( having a 7 on the tach is cool as well, just like having an "eleven" on your amplifier.)

Looks like your fuel gauge is running a little 'hot' .

 

[SteveSRT8]

Hot is good. Cylinder bore wear is reduced at higher coolant temps, so are emissions presuming everything else is ok.

My sig car and all the old LX series had a similar issue. Programmed and set up to run hot, the gauge calibrations caused everyone to holler about the needle position.

 

[Trav]

Normal operating temp, no problem here.

 

[Railrust]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
From yesterday. Yes, having the needle in the middle is comforting and having a 200 on the speedometer is cool. ( having a 7 on the tach is cool as well, just like having an "eleven" on your amplifier.)

But this one goes to eeeleven. See, it's one more.

 

[Audios]

This has been a complaint since I started at MB in 2002. Normal OT is 90.

 

[Audios]

Originally Posted by Railrust
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
From yesterday. Yes, having the needle in the middle is comforting and having a 200 on the speedometer is cool. ( having a 7 on the tach is cool as well, just like having an "eleven" on your amplifier.)

But this one goes to eeeleven. See, it's one more.


Why dont you just make 10 louder??

 

[eljefino]

The engineer in me is pleased that the usable range of the gauge is mostly utilized.

A beeping noise alerted me that my HHR was overheating-- first traffic jam in spring, fan motor had seized. Gauge was pegged. Odometer told me there was trouble. Saved the engine, honestly. I cranked the heat and rolled down the breakdown lane at 25 to the next exit.

 

[JHZR2]

The main question is if the gauge is even real, or highly buffered.

A tick above 80 is normal for Amy (old) MB I have/do own.

"Hot" is relative. My BMW runs around 222-224F (106C), which (to me) is indeed hot... but not in the danger zone of the OP's gauge.

Originally Posted by SteveSRT8


My sig car and all the old LX series had a similar issue. Programmed and set up to run hot, the gauge calibrations caused everyone to holler about the needle position.


Ive always found that kind of funny. All the other needles move pretty routinely. Even the temp needle swings up from cold... but we can't have it sit a bit higher in the gauge...