[Nocoolname]

Anyone notice that their engine temperature actually drops in cold weather? A few times when it’s about -15 Celsius and I’m idling with the heat on (engine fully warmed up) the engine temperature will go down to almost nothing and start blowing lukewarm air. I thought it might be because the engine is so small. Is this normal?

 

[LudeAEM]

Not normal. Sounds like your thermostat might be stuck open. Take it to the dealer

 

[Nocoolname]

Thanks! Will do.

 

[RedFiver13]

Mine did this when it was extremely cold. The needle would start to drop when I would stop. I never had the heater temp change, however. I remember this being discussed before. I think the location of the temp sensor was the cause of this. Hyundai should probably have the cars idle a bit higher when it is that cold outside.

 

[Nocoolname]

The engine temp dropped this much. I’ve had to make it idle higher with the gas pedal and that worked. A little inconvenient though.

 

[SportPremium]

These engines struggle to get warm in the cold.. even here in GA. That is very cold. But it might be worth a check on the thermostat.

 

[R1600Turbo]

Not normal. Sounds like your thermostat might be stuck open. Take it to the dealer

Actually it's a very common thing with these care in extremely cold temps. I wouldn't say it's a bad thermostat.

 

[ericsmit]

Mine takes forever to warm up. Normal on a tiny engine.

 

[Brandonsmerry]

Completely normal. The Non-Turbo 17' I had took in excess of 25-30 minutes to get to operating temperature in a Michigan winter. Small Motor=Small Heat Generation=Higher affect to ambient temperature

 

[JayGee]

Completely normal. The Non-Turbo 17' I had took in excess of 25-30 minutes to get to operating temperature in a Michigan winter. Small Motor=Small Heat Generation=Higher affect to ambient temperature

An engine block heater is a mandatory accessory on the ES here. I plug in the car when the overnight temperature is -10C (14F) or lower. After start up I let the engine run for about 1 minute and then drive off slowly. It takes more than 10 minutes of urban driving for the temperature gauge to reach or approach "normal" (i.e., pointer at just below the midpoint), but the climate control (which I leave on Auto @ 19C [66F]) is producing warm air after driving only two blocks.

BTW, the ES is the first car I've owned with a heated steering wheel. It is a great feature in this climate!

 

[Mike]

The reason it happens is because the engine and cylinder head are aluminum and the block is an open deck design.
The aluminum open deck block is great for keeping the engine cool when needed, but makes it take much longer to warm up in cold weather.

 

[LudeAEM]

Wait, the way I read the OPs car was already fully warmed up and then while idling it cooled down enough to blow lukewarm air from the vents. That, is not normal! Having it take awhile to warm up is much different.

 

[polarwhite1]

it's not normal, i can be sitting in a parking lot for 10 mins and mine will go all the way to 0....it's a bad thermostat stuck open , Hyundai has had recalls on this in previous years and im assuming they haven't learned their lesson yet.

 

[manuajohn]

That sure don't sound normal. Mine takes about 20 to 30 mins to warm up to operating temp when it's really cold outside. But I start getting the warm air in the cabin in about 10 mins of running though the temp needle is just past 'C'. Sometimes when idling before reaching operating temp, the temp needle will fall by 1mm or so but it comes back up soon more than it falls. And once it reaches its operating position it stays put there idling or driving. This image is after 20 mins of driving at 60mph with my climate set to 20 degrees Centigrade. I am in Michigan and there was a real cold spell a week ago. I have to say the engine starts and runs flawlessly with not a hiccup.

 

[Elantrasport2017]

Mine drops too if I idle for long enough it’s almost as if the cooling system is to strong for the winter months but we also have -20 to -40c weather in the winter.

 

[GsiTurbo]

We had a morning temperatures of about -35C (-31F) third day in a row now. Car is in the garage overnight. I can confirm that in a city crawl engine takes in excess of 20 minutes to reach half the operating temperature (1/4 deflection on temperature gauge). Once I hit motorway and travel at speed of 70-80km/h, engine warms up nicely. At the same time, during evening drive home from work (block heater is plugged in 2 hrs prior to my departure time) when temperature rises to about -25C (-13F), engine is warming up quickly 5-7 minutes of driving.