jk.bushwacker

well if your going through coolant, I would start there...

08rubie

Sounds like a head issue how many miles?

Septu

What do you mean? I'm not leaking any. And never is it getting 'low'. I'm just constantly topping it up.

32,000 km. So ~20,000 miles?

jk.bushwacker

"Coolant levels, I'm constantly checking, and constantly topping up (seem to be going through a lot of coolant)." there must be a prob if your going thru a lot of coolant. either it is leaking or it not functioning properly and should be checked. usually the water pump starts to leak slowly and does not do its job very well. you wont find much coolant lying around because it will evap once it hits the warm engine.

Septu

Dealer says no, and that they checked all of that.

jk.bushwacker

i'd try another dealer

Grand Umpah

If you're having to "top off" your coolant reservoir, then you do have a problem and the recommendation to start there makes sense to me.

There are at least 2 things that affect the boiling point of water (which is normally 212F): pressure and something (like antifreeze) dissolved in the water- both serve to increase the boiling point (see: HowStuffWorks "How Car Cooling Systems Work" )

If you're losing coolant, there's a good chance you've got a leak somewhere. If there is a leak, then the pressure in your cooling system may drop and that, in turn, lets the coolant boil when the engine is under a load. Between an actual leak and boiling coolant off, that may explain why you're having to top off the coolant. But I'm not sure if it explains the spikes in temperature. As others have pointed out, perhaps the gauges are not accurate (but this seems like too much of a coincidence to me; leak and bad gauge?)

I've seen other posts recently on this forum, so do some searching. One JK owner had a similar problem and it was just the radiator cap; a cheap solution. I would think that a pressure test would be the first step (search YouTube for pressure test and radiator).

4x4chick

Unless your gauge goes into the red it is not considered overheating. We have a 2012 2 door and tow a 2000 pound pop-up trailer in 110 plus temps and the gauge just move ever so slightly to the right of the centre line going up a hill in 3rd gear at 5000 rpm. Our friend got a 2013 4 door with the same specs as our 2 door and his gauge move up halfway between the centre line and the 3/4 line on the same uphill without towing anything.

We asked one of the dealers around us witch is super mod friendly about it, and they say it is normal. According to them it is just a gauge and not 100% accurate.

How do you know the exact temp of the water??? Pus if you have to top up the coolant, then you might have a problem. We got 17000 miles on our Jeep and I have never had to top up any coolant. And this is the second summer for the Jeep in the brutal heat of the Southern California desert.

jk.bushwacker

happened to me... took to dealer cause the temp gauge was rising just like the OP. they checked it all out - nothing wrong they said. "the temp is in the acceptable range" a few months later while out at MOAB all the idiot lights came on, going thru tons of coolant (it was july tho) this was also the same time the dealer updated the idiot lights for the lack of a tranny cooler on the older JKs. took back to dealer when got home. still nothing wrong a lot of coolant and a few months later, out doing some snow wheeling and POP lost the water pump and most the coolant right on the trail. glad it was cold enuff to get it off the trail. water pump, belt tensioner and temp gauge was replaced. I also bought a radiator cap too but never ended up using it. everything has been great since with even a few more trips to MOAB on her no prob

Septu

The next closest dealer is over 1000 miles away. Not an option.

I'll have to get the 2012 manual and see what exactly is considered 'overheating'. I'm alright with it going a notch or two to the right... But it only does that on little hills, even with the RPMs at ~2k. It goes well past that on bigger hills, and on really big ones it'll hit the 3/4 mark (245F). I have a digital scan gauge 2 that's plugged into the CPU port that reads out a few stats (I use instant MPG, RPM, temp, battery volt).

Also, I live up north, and our outside temps while warm for us, are rarely over 80F.