My "engine tempertaure too low" light comes on whenever I first began driving...?

Question

When I first start my car until I have driven about 3-8 minutes, the blue "engine temperature too low" light comes on, but alwasy turns off in said time limit. Is this bad? Should I get it checked out? Thanks

Answer 1

That is normal in cars that have that feature. In my wifes VW it is suppose to do that, it will come on blue, then when the car warms up it goes off. If the car over heats the water sign lights up red.

Answer 2

What kind of car is it? I've never seen an engine temp too low light, but obviously any engine takes some time to get up to operating temperature. Just in general, there are a few things which can keep an engine running cool.

The most obvious suspect is the thermostat, which is always nice, because it's like a $5 part. It will be in-line with one of the large radiator hoses, usually. As the engine heats up, the thermostat opens to allow coolant to flow through the cooling system (radiator). These things can get stuck open sometimes, and if that's the case, your engine will run cool. The consequences of this are lower mileage, and less-than-ideal temperature in the combustion chamber, which can foul your spark plugs and create carbon buildup. Not a huge deal, but not something you want going on for long periods of time.

You could also have a rich fuel mixture. More fuel will cool slightly, though I don't see this triggering a light. Oxygen sensors can cause this if they're bad, or other sensors...needle valve/float on a carburetor, etc...

Other than that, got me. I would think it would make more sense for such a light to come on only after a certain amount of time had passed, indicating such a problem. How it knows the engine temp is too low before it's warmed up is beyond me :-P. But anyhoo, check the thermostat.

Answer 3

If it says Eng temp low than that's what it is>>? Look in the owner Manuel or call the dealer>>?

Answer 4

no its not bad ,its doing what it was designed to do,its just telling you the engine hasn't warmed completely up yet,its fine like it is,good luck with it.