I have a 94 Accord EX. A few weeks ago when the weather reached the hottest it had been this year in my area, I noticed the temp light which is usually at around the 1/3 mark, rose to a little above the 3/4 mark. Car didn't seem to be bubbling. It didn't do it consistently over the next few days, but when it did, it would act like this: rise to near hot when sitting at a light, and the second I take off would gradually drop down to 1/3 within 8-12 seconds of driving. I added some antifreeze and it acted fine for a couple weeks.

We were driving on a hot day two days ago, noticed the temp gauge going to near true hot mark level for the first time and discovered the heater hose blew. Got that replaced, drove around for around 12-15 minutes, and saw the needle rise to about the 3/4 mark. Took it right back to the guy who had just replace hose, he poured water over the radiator and we added some more antifreeze. The car did not overheat (weather had dropped a few degrees at that point if that should matter) during my driving the rest of that day,even with the car sitting idle and running for minutes at a time.

Today my wife drove it and the needle rose to near hot, she stopped to check and fluid had been leaking from somewhere. I fillled with water(some antifreeze was still in) and the needle did rise to to about 3/4 but I never saw any leaks. Funny thing is, when you press on the gas when idle, the needle goes down immediately.

What does it sound like the issue may be with my car?

 

this should help you diagnose.

http://techauto.te.funpic.org/overhe...altroubleshoot

thanks deserthonda


it sounds to me like you have a leak. do you have any white smoke coming out of the exhaust?

 

Nope, no white smoke. If there is a leak, would that generally cause the car to overheat fairly quickly in most situations? My wife drove the car 20 minutes to work this morning(outside temp was not too hot) and the needle never rose above normal.

 

it depends. keep an eye on it and try to think of as many details as possible to tell us if it happens again.