Change Oil Weight, Temp Gauge Reads Lower

[Neanderthal]

I just had my O&F done at the KIA dealer. I always supply the oil, this time I brought in 5w-30 Castrol Edge API SN Plus. Last O&F was January 10 and I used Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-20. It's a 2017 KIA Soul 1.6 automatic with under 20,000 on it.
The temp gauge reads a little lower than before. Always, before this O&F, the needle was just a hair below the 1/2 line. Now it reads about halfway, or a little lower, in the quadrant between 3/8 and 1/2. Weird.

Temp gauge has ALWAYS been consistent before this. I'm baffled.


.

 

[wpod]

I as well am baffled.

 

[Tman220]

There is no logical reason for this other than being a coincidence. Plus, I highly doubt that gauge would be sensitive enough to register a small change in operating temp. Most temp gauges these days are more so idiot lights than actual gauges.

 

[aquariuscsm]

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

Do you have an obdii dongle you can connect to your phone and get the exact temperature measurement? At least it’s not reading higher.

 

[JT20]

Your coolant temperature gauge, right?

 

[Blinker]

Those magical little Kia Souls

 

[JT20]

Those magical little Kia Souls

Driven by hamsters.

 

[ka9mnx]

Opposite for me. Went from SuperTech syn 5w-30 to SuperTech syn 0w20 and coolant temp gauge went down.

Flame suit on...

 

[Neanderthal]

There is no logical reason for this other than being a coincidence. Plus, I highly doubt that gauge would be sensitive enough to register a small change in operating temp. Most temp gauges these days are more so idiot lights than actual gauges.

I agree it's illogical. The gauge has never varied a bit before this.

 

[Neanderthal]

Your coolant temperature gauge, right?

Correct.

Do you have an obdii dongle you can connect to your phone and get the exact temperature measurement? At least it’s not reading higher.

No but I'll look into getting one. And yeah, I'd prefer lower to higher if I had a choice.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’m guessing just a coincidence. And really the dealer lets you bring your own oil? Around here the shops pull the classic we can’t use stuff you provide for liability reasons stunt.

 

[OilUzer]

Your oil temp could be a little higher. Guessing ~5-15F.

My dummy coolant temp gauge stays in EXACT same spot (just below the half mark) from iirc ~168F to 208F max that I've ever recorded with odbii. Under normal conditions I always read 184-194F and the car is almost 16 years old.
Never seen it go above that mark. I'm sure when the steam is coming out, it may move and/or jump to the red zone near the top.

 

[Jetronic]

I just had my O&F done at the KIA dealer. I always supply the oil, this time I brought in 5w-30 Castrol Edge API SN Plus. Last O&F was January 10 and I used Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-20. It's a 2017 KIA Soul 1.6 automatic with under 20,000 on it.
The temp gauge reads a little lower than before. Always, before this O&F, the needle was just a hair below the 1/2 line. Now it reads about halfway, or a little lower, in the quadrant between 3/8 and 1/2. Weird.

Temp gauge has ALWAYS been consistent before this. I'm baffled.


.

the fake gauges used in kia/hyundai always read halfway between 80 and 90. I'm a dealer tech, I watch those gauges in a lot of cars. They can be off by 20 degrees too.

Maybe you can find some videos on youtube of hyundais and kias at operating temp, you can confirm for yourself.

 

[DGXR]

the fake gauges used in kia/hyundai always read halfway between 80 and 90. I'm a dealer tech, I watch those gauges in a lot of cars. They can be off by 20 degrees too.

My dummy coolant temp gauge stays in EXACT same spot (just below the half mark) from iirc ~168F to 208F max that I've ever recorded with odbii. Under normal conditions I always read 184-194F and the car is almost 16 years old.
Never seen it go above that mark. I'm sure when the steam is coming out, it may move and/or jump to the red zone near the top.

This is exactly what Tman220 meant by "idiot light" in post #3 above.
Whether it's cruising highway in 35F temps or idling 10 minutes in 110F temps, my 2006 Tacoma coolant gauge always reads the same thing: "normal temperature" LOL.

 

[ka9mnx]

If it's a dummy gauge it will go from cold to operating temp in an instant. All of my gauges slowly rise to op temp as I drive so I suppose they aren't dummy gauges. On the other hand, oil pressure "gauges" on my Ford's are dummy gauges.

 

[mahanddeem]

My coolant temp (OBD reading) fluctuates between 190F and 208F. Oil temp is a tad hotter 192F to 210F. I didn't find 0w40 to register any higher oil temp than 5w30.