Hey everyone,

I'm new to world of Hondas so I'm not quite sure what this problem could be and everyone here seems to know Accords in and out.

I bought my 1997 Honda Accord EX (VTEC) on Sunday and I've been driving it around and had no problems until this afternoon. It was about 45 degrees outside and I was driving on the highway and I noticed the temp gauge was high. I kept driving and it kept creeping up. But there wasn't the usual pattern of drive and it cools, and sit at idle and it heats up. It was completely random and it would fluctuate between almost in the red zone to the middle, even in street driving, but it mostly stayed at 3/4 of the way up for the ride home.

When I first bought the car I noticed it had an idle problem and I wasn't sure what it was but when it warmed up it went away so I didn't worry about it. It will idle between 1500 and 3000 and keep revving up and down, not sure if this problem is related or separate.

I've been reading up on the problem and it could be the air controller, thermostat, coolant level (which wasn't low), radiator, but I'm wondering if this is common or if something is seriously wrong with the car. In which case I'm going to return it to the dealer.

I appreciate any help.

-Josh

 

....my spit ball for today.

Bleed the coolant, if that does not help...replace the t-stat (cheap) and be sure to bleed the air out - set the heat to max.

Do BOTH fans come on when the car is running and the temp climbs?

 

Also, when the engine is cold, start the car and turn on the a/c. Do both radiator fans turn on?