4 Symptoms of a Bad Car Thermostat

A bad car thermostat can be difficult on your wallet and ruin the car’s engine. This critical component, when gone bad, must be repaired immediately. Read on to know more about the symptoms or warning signs of a bad car thermostat.

1. Overheating: Bad thermostat can cause the car to swelter, as the thermostat is a heat-sensitive control device situated at the radiator hose. If the thermostat is stuck here, the radiator coolant would stop working, resulting in the car overheating. Thus, if the car is overheating, there could be a possibility that the thermostat has stopped functioning. 

2. Under Heating: If the thermostat is trapped in an open setting it would lead to engine under heating. This usually happens when the engine achieves a certain operating temperature and the radiator coolant flows into the engine before reaching the normal temperature. This could be the cause of a car thermostat not functioning properly. 

3. Temperature Fluctuations: A malfunctioning thermostat would result in temperature fluctuations throughout the operation of the engine. This is because the engine temperature would alter as the radiator coolant is prohibited from flowing normally.

4. Poor Engine Performance: A bad thermostat leads to poor engine performance as it alters the engine’s operating temperature greatly. Moreover, it could also lead to reduced gas mileage.