Overheating at Highway Speeds with A/C On

Dammit, you got me, you're no fun!

 

I agree, let it blow. You are under warranty. I would however put in a case for Toyota too about the dealership and their lack of care for their product.

 

'we cant fix it until something breaks'? Something is already broken, thats why its overheating...
I would have been pretty heated, no pun intended, if they said that to me.

 

Don't count on it. I for one will not be in the loved column.

 

Just heard from dealership...radiator is clean and clear, coolant level is normal. They ordered a thermostat and will replace that tomorrow morning. If that doesn't fix it, they are going to start testing cylinders.

 

Yeah. When I heard rough running....I though head gasket. A/C on vs off wouldn't be tied to that though.

I also wonder about instrumentation. I have a Bluetooth OBD reader that I use with Torque. Between about 180 and 195 degrees....the factory needle does not move.

 

Fucking Toyota is going to kill itself with this BULLSHIT!

 

Good to hear. Hopefully the issue resolves with the new thermostat and it doesn't escalate to testing the cylinders.

 

They should be checking for compression gasses in the coolant.

 

The problem is similar to my Jetta.

Maybe this was covered and confirmed not the problem but the if this only happens with the AC on its the cooling fans. The fans normally come if the the engine gets to operating temp at stop for instance. It warms up no air passing through radiator so fans kick on. With the AC on they should be on constantly to pull the heat, created by the enormous amount of energy, created by the phase change in the AC system (liquid to gas).

That is the way it was explained to me and makes sense.

 

They inspected the radiator and condenser and reported it as clean. I'm really hoping this is fixed tomorrow.

 

"Clean" is one thing I guess, functioning is the key. It was same problem as yours....my car with AC on was overheating. I called my buddy(15 VW/AUDI tech) he said turn off AC and I could drive no problem, no overheating. He had me check if the fans worked at all with AC on. I cannot remember if one or none worked. Then he explained similar as I did here. He replaced one or both fans, I think one, and was good to go.

The condenser and radiator can be perfect and probably are. If no heat is pulled from system, not enough heat escapes.

 

We have one taco with a bad thermostat and its doomsday for everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!
Run for the hills !!!!

 

A/C creates a lot of heat in the engine bay. If the dealer can't figure the problem, maybe a different dealer might solve the problem. Problem nowadays is newer mechanics don't know how to troubleshoot. They rely on plugging in a scanner for troubleshooting.

 

Clean does not mean much. Its a one year old truck, so it should be clean internally still. I just had a brand new ATV in the shop that would overheat after 30 min. of riding, and it was almost always 30 min. on the dot. After changing the T-stat it still did it. I swapped the radiator cap from another bike and that solved the issue. May not be the problem on your truck, but, its an easy part to switch and go from there.

 

Per the 3rd gen service manual these are your operating temps.

Coolant thermostat opens 187-194F
Normal coolant temperature - 167 to 212°F
Max coolant temp is 284F

I wonder how hot the coolant had to get to make that gauge move to the red?!

My scangauge usually reads between 188-198. Right around 192 on a hot day in Phoenix with the AC on. The dash temp gauge has never budged from right in the middle of normal.

This engine runs warm for emissions reasons but that's not an excuse for overheating!!

Im very curious how this gets resolved.

 

If I was in this situation and the dealership said that to me, I would have asked for it in writing and the phone number to the wrecker company they want to tow it. Gone out on the highway and drove till it roasted. Then called the wrecker company.

Glad to hear they are working towards a fix.

Not even sure what to say, other than are you for real? I'll set my alarm for every hour to make sure my truck doesn't blow up on me. Again for real? Hundreds of thousands of 3rd gens sold, shit is going happen to some. And being on a forum that pops up in many "Tacoma google searches," is going to have us seeing a good portion of folks complaining about there issues, way more than those not taking the time to praise thier truck.

 

It's all @smitty99 fault !!

 

The Difference is your Jetta has Electric Fans and the Tacoma has a Mechanical Fan, 2 different animals.

 

Don't drive it. This is part when you let the manufacture warranty go to work