Interesting fluid temp observations on our ‘24 Carnival

[edyvw]

I’ve seen higher for sure, but man, the oil is well into the 16 grade range at those temps.

Well, I was running M1 0W40, which in reality is thick W30, at 300f on track, constantly pushing between 5-7,000rpm.
I would bump to something like Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W30, that is thin W30, but bcs. GTL base and bit of esters, it will still have robust HTHS for ILSAC oil.

 

[edyvw]

Lubegard Kool•It added to the coolant reservoir brought my temps down. Napa or Rock Auto has it.

No need to introduce anything to the coolant. Just dilute the coolant to 30% if there is concern.
I run 10-15% when on track.

 

[Thermo1223]

Looks like it has the standard level and temp sensor.

I wouldn't worry and the other coolant temp might be a radiator outlet temp, VW does this as well.

 

[MCompact]

My C43 can display oil and ATF temperatures on the IP. The highest oil temperature I have seen is 210 F; I haven't seen ATF temperatures over 185 F.

 

[Hohn]

No need to introduce anything to the coolant. Just dilute the coolant to 30% if there is concern.
I run 10-15% when on track.

Yup, water carries a lot more heat than glycol does. That's why so many racers run straight water with something like WaterWetter as an anticorrosive.

 

[Hohn]

Yesterday I got a Bluetooth OBD dongle along with the ‘Car Scanner ELM 327’ app for iOS. Silly name, but GREAT app. I can see oil, coolant, trans temps. Plus a ton of other live info. What really surprised me is just how hot this van runs. Hot=efficient, so I get it.

For coolant, it settles around 210-215f with normal driving. There is a second reading that is always 10f cooler, regardless of what the first temp reads. Not sure which one to trust, but it’s still pretty warm. The reservoir cap is high pressure on this van, like 1.6 bar or something. What I find funny is that the dummy gauge on the dash hits the normal middle position just after 140f.

Trans temp slowly climbs up to about 210, and goes down a bit if coasting downhill. That’s normal from what I’ve seen in other vehicles. I find that this van actually gets the trans up to temp faster than I’ve measured in other vehicles.

The oil was the most surprising. After about 20 mins of driving in 74 degree weather, the oil settled in around 225f. Prolonged coasting or idling brought it down to maybe 219/220. This was with just my son and I in the van and a couple bags. Easy driving with mildly hilly roads. The factory service manual states that an oil pan temp of 226-234f is normal. That’s hot!!! I can see the oil getting hotter with a loaded vehicle, steep hills, AC ON etc.

That 0w20 oil is well into 16 grade territory at those temps. Nonetheless, I’m glad I have this info. I’ll monitor the temps further on some longer drives and road trips just for my curiosity.

I wouldn't be terribly alarmed with consistent oil temps that high. Worst case, just bump up a grade in viscosity and change the oil a bit more frequently since it will oxidize faster. Pick something with a solid EPVAT and you'll be good to go.

At full load in engine development (dyno testing where parameters are controlled) it's typical to see oil drain temps run about 30F hotter than coolant top tank temps.


It's really hard to compare "oil temps" across vehicles when you don't know the measurement locations of different data sets. Someone is measuring oil pan temps, someone else in the VVT actuator, someone else at a post-oil pump location like where a pressure switch might be.

Temperature varies considerably throughout the engine. Pan temps are the most directly comparable but arguably the least useful.

 

[Klutch9]

UPDATE:

Today was the hottest day of the year so far, 90f. We drove the van on interstate, and some surface roads with some bumper to bumper traffic. The oil and atf temp were the same as they always are. But the coolant temp was noticeably cooler. Typically the radiator inlet temp is around 210f give or take, regardless of ambient temp. The outlet temp is around 10f lower. Today, it never got above 190f, and the outlet temp was about 10-15f cooler. I wonder why?

My only theory is that the vehicle knows the ambient temps are hotter, so it allows for more coolant flow to run slightly cooler. In the event you have sustained high load, you have more thermal overhead. It doesn’t have a traditional thermostat, but instead an electronic thingy that also regulates atf temp I think. Or at least warms them up together.

 

[Skippy722]

UPDATE:

Today was the hottest day of the year so far, 90f. We drove the van on interstate, and some surface roads with some bumper to bumper traffic. The oil and atf temp were the same as they always are. But the coolant temp was noticeably cooler. Typically the radiator inlet temp is around 210f give or take, regardless of ambient temp. The outlet temp is around 10f lower. Today, it never got above 190f, and the outlet temp was about 10-15f cooler. I wonder why?

My only theory is that the vehicle knows the ambient temps are hotter, so it allows for more coolant flow to run slightly cooler. In the event you have sustained high load, you have more thermal overhead. It doesn’t have a traditional thermostat, but instead an electronic thingy that also regulates atf temp I think. Or at least warms them up together.

My Ram does something similar, but it uses shutters in front of the radiator. Lightly loaded and just cruising it’ll hold the coolant around 210-212F, put it under load or if it’s like it was today it’ll go down the highway at 203 on the dot, though I presume that’s to cool the condenser more than the radiator.

 

[Klutch9]

My Ram does something similar, but it uses shutters in front of the radiator. Lightly loaded and just cruising it’ll hold the coolant around 210-212F, put it under load or if it’s like it was today it’ll go down the highway at 203 on the dot, though I presume that’s to cool the condenser more than the radiator.

I wondered if it had something to do with the AC also. I wasn’t brave enough to shut it off and find out haha. I know our van does not have shutters.

 

[Klutch9]

Today, it was even hotter, around 95. The fluid temps were even lower for the atf and oil. ATF stayed around 195, and oil around 180. Normally oil will stay at 220+ unless idling.

 

[Rand]

Today, it was even hotter, around 95. The fluid temps were even lower for the atf and oil. ATF stayed around 195, and oil around 180. Normally oil will stay at 220+ unless idling.

Fans always on for AC vs cooler temps? Might explain an around town difference.. highway.. no idea.

 

[Klutch9]

Fans always on for AC vs cooler temps? Might explain an around town difference.. highway.. no idea.

The thing is, in weather like 85f ish and under, with the ac on, the car comes up to ‘normal’ temperatures just fine.

 

[Rand]

The thing is, in weather like 85f ish and under, with the ac on, the car comes up to ‘normal’ temperatures just fine.

does it have grill shutters?

 

[Klutch9]

does it have grill shutters?

No. We just drove a bit more, but on surface streets instead of interstate this time. The oil temp came up a bit to around 210 after awhile. But coolant and atf are still lower.

I think the vehicle must just give some thermal overhead at those ambient temps. It DOES have an oil cooler, but I don’t know if it’s regulated by the air or by coolant. It’s a small appendage off the filter housing. Whatever the case, it has made me comfortable using 0w20. Our summers get hot, and we’re driving to Florida next month. The hottest I’ve seen the oil get is like 238, in mild weather. But the car clearly handles the fluid temps well when the ambient is high.

 

[GR_CoB]

 

[Skippy722]

View attachment 286104

THIS IS AN HPL FORUM!

 

[Klutch9]

With ESP 0w-30 in the sump, we just drove from Detroit to Orlando over the past two days. I was curious if the thicker oil would lead to higher oil temps, but it did not. Still running the same 238/239 sump temps on the highway when under a little load. Will drop down to 235 ish or lower when going downhill. No impact on fuel economy. In fact, we are averaging over 28 calculated mpg so far. And I was not babying it either. Running premium most of the trip, since the price spread is closer down here and the van likes it.

 

[Chief2025]

Yesterday I got a Bluetooth OBD dongle along with the ‘Car Scanner ELM 327’ app for iOS. Silly name, but GREAT app. I can see oil, coolant, trans temps. Plus a ton of other live info. What really surprised me is just how hot this van runs. Hot=efficient, so I get it.

For coolant, it settles around 210-215f with normal driving. There is a second reading that is always 10f cooler, regardless of what the first temp reads. Not sure which one to trust, but it’s still pretty warm. The reservoir cap is high pressure on this van, like 1.6 bar or something. What I find funny is that the dummy gauge on the dash hits the normal middle position just after 140f.

Trans temp slowly climbs up to about 210, and goes down a bit if coasting downhill. That’s normal from what I’ve seen in other vehicles. I find that this van actually gets the trans up to temp faster than I’ve measured in other vehicles.

The oil was the most surprising. After about 20 mins of driving in 74 degree weather, the oil settled in around 225f. Prolonged coasting or idling brought it down to maybe 219/220. This was with just my son and I in the van and a couple bags. Easy driving with mildly hilly roads. The factory service manual states that an oil pan temp of 226-234f is normal. That’s hot!!! I can see the oil getting hotter with a loaded vehicle, steep hills, AC ON etc.

That 0w20 oil is well into 16 grade territory at those temps. Nonetheless, I’m glad I have this info. I’ll monitor the temps further on some longer drives and road trips just for my curiosity.

I run a 30 weight in ours for this very reason.
Especially on long summer trips fully loaded.

 

[Chief2025]

does the engine even have an oil temp sensor? Most Kia/hyundai engines don't and they use a calculated oil temp which has no relation with reality. I did a brief search but didn't find an oil temp sensor part number.

There in one right in the pan...
Can't miss it

 

[Chief2025]

With ESP 0w-30 in the sump, we just drove from Detroit to Orlando over the past two days. I was curious if the thicker oil would lead to higher oil temps, but it did not. Still running the same 238/239 sump temps on the highway when under a little load. Will drop down to 235 ish or lower when going downhill. No impact on fuel economy. In fact, we are averaging over 28 calculated mpg so far. And I was not babying it either. Running premium most of the trip, since the price spread is closer down here and the van likes it.

I agree
The engine comp is 12.3:1......which really thrives on premium fuel, especially is very hot weather.