Vehicle takes so long to come up to temp!

[Klutch9]

This is for our Carnival. It doesn’t actually have an issue, but it’s odd how it works. It has one of those mixing valve things that warms the coolant/oil/ATF all together. I will say, it is very good at warming up the oil. Typically the oil temp is only about 10 degrees F behind the coolant temp, until it starts to overtake it around 200 degrees. I like that. On my old Sedona, the oil temp trailed the coolant by a lot more than that when warming up.

However, when it’s really cold out, the vehicle hardly warms up. Yesterday was a good example, and the weather was between 15 and 20 F. I started it from stone cold and drove about 20 mins, with mostly 45 mph roads and some residential. Very flat. After the drive, the coolant was only at 155. Oil was around 145. Shortly after that I went to get carry out, and when I came back the temps were around the same. A few hours later I made the 20 min drive back home, and things weren’t much hotter: coolant around 170 and oil around 160.

Granted, it was cold, and I had the heat blowing front and rear. So lots of heat being shed, but I still would think it would warm up faster. Of note, the ‘normal’ resting location for the needle on the coolant dummy gauge occurs at 140 F (in hot weather the coolant temp settles around 210). I find that really low, since most vehicles I’ve owned reach the normal point at around where the coolant temp settles. Maybe Kia knew that this van runs cool sometimes, so they made the dummy gauge even more stupid so people wouldn’t worry about it. I have gotten all these temp readings with a dongle and app.

 

[supton]

Personally I'm ok with a long warm up time--means it's burning less gas. How they manage to keep emissions low and thus passing EPA regs while having a "cold" engine is beyond me, used to be, cars were rather rich until they got warm, and they would do so to warm up both engine and catalytic convertor.

I miss my seat heater! I would turn mine on in October and not off until May. Cared a bit less about slow heating.

 

[wwillson]

I had the same problem on my Durango years ago and finally realized the problem was the thermostat. I replaced it and now it warms up very quickly and stays there.

 

[Klutch9]

I had the same problem on my Durango years ago and finally realized the problem was the thermostat. I replaced it and now it warms up very quickly and stays there.

I had that with a prior vehicle too. It was only a few years old when the thermostat failed. This van doesn’t have a traditional thermostat and I think it’s all software-controlled. I think…

 

[JeffKeryk]

Some cars will throw a trouble code for a stuck open thermostat. I would swap it out with a quality replacement or factory part.
I am about to do this on my grand niece's '13 Civic.

By the way, you want it to come up to proper operating temp quickly... Otherwise it may run pig rich.

 

[D60]

Is this really deliberate? Sounds like a bad t-stat to me.

There's a case to be made this is unsafe: defrost won't work hardly at all at 170F, much less 140. I'm in CO -- I know

Even if you have a heated windshield, what keeps the side windows clear?

 

[D60]

RA doesn't list a t-stat but I think because it's a plastic monstrosity that hasn't been licensed to Dorman yet. In a few years H/K will get sick of producing it and release the drawings to the Chinese factories:
https://kia.oempartsonline.com/oem-...56003n300#:~:text=Details,Sale Price: $439.31

 

[xspeedy]

Mine threw codes on occasion for taking too long to come to temp, and swapped the thermostat.

 

[Donald]

This is for our Carnival. It doesn’t actually have an issue, but it’s odd how it works. It has one of those mixing valve things that warms the coolant/oil/ATF all together. I will say, it is very good at warming up the oil. Typically the oil temp is only about 10 degrees F behind the coolant temp, until it starts to overtake it around 200 degrees. I like that. On my old Sedona, the oil temp trailed the coolant by a lot more than that when warming up.

However, when it’s really cold out, the vehicle hardly warms up. Yesterday was a good example, and the weather was between 15 and 20 F. I started it from stone cold and drove about 20 mins, with mostly 45 mph roads and some residential. Very flat. After the drive, the coolant was only at 155. Oil was around 145. Shortly after that I went to get carry out, and when I came back the temps were around the same. A few hours later I made the 20 min drive back home, and things weren’t much hotter: coolant around 170 and oil around 160.

Granted, it was cold, and I had the heat blowing front and rear. So lots of heat being shed, but I still would think it would warm up faster. Of note, the ‘normal’ resting location for the needle on the coolant dummy gauge occurs at 140 F (in hot weather the coolant temp settles around 210). I find that really low, since most vehicles I’ve owned reach the normal point at around where the coolant temp settles. Maybe Kia knew that this van runs cool sometimes, so they made the dummy gauge even more stupid so people wouldn’t worry about it. I have gotten all these temp readings with a dongle and app.

Thermostat is a maintenance item. Replace it with OEM or Stant. See if it improves. It's a relatively inexpensive item. They do not last forever. Get stuck or slow to open.

 

[97prizm]

Personally I'm ok with a long warm up time--means it's burning less gas. How they manage to keep emissions low and thus passing EPA regs while having a "cold" engine is beyond me, used to be, cars were rather rich until they got warm, and they would do so to warm up both engine and catalytic convertor.

I miss my seat heater! I would turn mine on in October and not off until May. Cared a bit less about slow heating.

Toyota uses something called a WU-Cat or warm up cat. It's typically really close to the engine for fast warm ups.

 

[k1xv]

In the old days we used cardboard in winter to block part of the radiator from wind.

 

[Hall]

Some cars will throw a trouble code for a stuck open thermostat. I would swap it out with a quality replacement or factory part.

Yeap, it's a P0128 code. For emissions purposes, it runs too rich and "pollutes" more, I guess. On our Civic, it was apparent that the temperature gauge was a tick or two lower than normal too.

 

[shortyb]

Sounds like your thermal management module is going bad. This vehicle doesn't use a conventional thermostat, it uses the TMM to control engine coolant temps and is integrated onto the water pump. VWs have these and are notorious for failure. Fortunately, they are pretty simple to replace on their own, but most replace with the water pump since they are attached together. I'm not familiar with H/K's, but hit up YouTube for a tutorial about replacement.

Edit: watched a YT video from Wrenching Ryan that illustrates the TMM replacement on a 2021-2026 2.5T GDI Sedona pretty well. It appears this module is part of the water pump assembly and isn't separate as there are 3 or 4 valves that go deep into the pump body. Those valves are connected to the TMM, but does not seem separable.

 

[supton]

Thermostat is a maintenance item. Replace it with OEM or Stant. See if it improves. It's a relatively inexpensive item. They do not last forever. Get stuck or slow to open.

Looking at the OP's signature it's a 2024 vehicle. Seems a bit new for a stat to go out, no? I get it, random failures and all. But it's a long ways to it being time to replace.

 

[ripcord]

One thing that can help with warming up quicker is to lock out overdrive and keep the engine RPMs up. It wastes a little gas but builds heat faster.

 

[Klutch9]

I really don’t think anything is wrong, I was just ranting haha. It’s a super common complaint on the Carnival forums. Lots of mentions of long warm up time.

FWIW, ECO mode heats up the engine faster I believe, but at the expense of even less heat. It must close off some of the heater core flow in that mode.

 

[zzyzzx]

I had the same problem on my Durango years ago and finally realized the problem was the thermostat. I replaced it and now it warms up very quickly and stays there.

Shouldn't that produce a code?

 

[IndyIan]

This is for our Carnival. It doesn’t actually have an issue, but it’s odd how it works. It has one of those mixing valve things that warms the coolant/oil/ATF all together. I will say, it is very good at warming up the oil. Typically the oil temp is only about 10 degrees F behind the coolant temp, until it starts to overtake it around 200 degrees. I like that. On my old Sedona, the oil temp trailed the coolant by a lot more than that when warming up.

However, when it’s really cold out, the vehicle hardly warms up. Yesterday was a good example, and the weather was between 15 and 20 F. I started it from stone cold and drove about 20 mins, with mostly 45 mph roads and some residential. Very flat. After the drive, the coolant was only at 155. Oil was around 145. Shortly after that I went to get carry out, and when I came back the temps were around the same. A few hours later I made the 20 min drive back home, and things weren’t much hotter: coolant around 170 and oil around 160.

Granted, it was cold, and I had the heat blowing front and rear. So lots of heat being shed, but I still would think it would warm up faster. Of note, the ‘normal’ resting location for the needle on the coolant dummy gauge occurs at 140 F (in hot weather the coolant temp settles around 210). I find that really low, since most vehicles I’ve owned reach the normal point at around where the coolant temp settles. Maybe Kia knew that this van runs cool sometimes, so they made the dummy gauge even more stupid so people wouldn’t worry about it. I have gotten all these temp readings with a dongle and app.

That seems too cool for only 10-20F, you need a new thermostat is my guess, as that kind of behavior should start around -10F for even lower.
My old Focus would run warmer than that with its partially stuck open thermostat, but it would be revving up around 2200rpm to go 55mph on the highway.

 

[Brian123]

I really don’t think anything is wrong,

Then why start a Thread?

I was just ranting haha.

Really!

. It’s a super common complaint on the Carnival forums. Lots of mentions of long warm up time.

Really!

Lots of mentions of long warm up time.

Really!

FWIW, ECO mode heats up the engine faster I believe, but at the expense of even less heat. It must close off some of the heater core flow in that mode.

Thank you for starting a Thread and giving us the answers!

Granted, it was cold, and I had the heat blowing front and rear. So lots of heat being shed,

You have no problems!

 

[FastLane]

Small aluminum engines take a long time to warm up in the cold. Always have. Cover the front up and it makes a huge difference. Winter fronts for trucks were common. Not so much anymore just because people are stupid and lazy. I still use one on my 2010 Silverado.