This is very odd. Tonight the engine temperature gauge on my '06 Camry LE 4-cylinder did something I've never seen it do before.
I had been shopping at Walmart for 45 minutes. When I left the store, and started the car, everything was fine. I drove about a block and turned off the engine to rearrange some shopping bags. The engine was off for maybe a minute or two while I rearranged bags.
When I started the engine back up, the engine temperature gauge went a lot higher than I've ever seen it, and I always check it while driving.
Normally, when the engine reaches operating temperature the gauge stops rising when the gauge reaches about a 45-degree angle. If the gauge were pointing straight up at a 90-degree angle, the gauge would be in the red zone, too hot.
Instead of a 45-degree angle where the gauge always comes to a stop, it continued rising to about a 67-degree angle, which is midway between the usual 45-degree angle it stops at and the danger zone of 90 degrees.
I was amazed and stunned to see this. The car is not even
2 years old yet. And the oil was recently changed.I drove about a block and parked the car near a Break Time store. I waited inside the store for half-an-hour so the engine could cool down. The engine light on the dash never came on during any of this, which is a good thing. I have no idea if the gauge would have continued rising, though, had I not stopped to let things cool.
While waiting, I checked the coolant level in the expansion bottle/coolant reservoir. The coolant level was normal, half-way between full and low. The lid on the coolant reservoir was properly closed, as was the cap on top of the radiator.
The oil level on the dipstick was normal. After 30 minutes of waiting inside Break Time, I opened the cap on top of the radiator to check the coolant in the radiator. Plenty of coolant inside, a little bit even spilled out. I reclosed the radiator cap.
I didn't see any leaks on the ground. The fluid levels were all normal for power steering and brake fluid. The only thing I didn't check was the automatic transmission fluid.
I had only driven 24 miles today over a 2- or 3-hour period making various stops before arriving at Walmart. All city driving, no highway. Nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing slightly askew was I had my air conditioning on during the first half of the day, even though it was 62 degrees F outside. The A/C was off during the second half.
The worst part is I was planning to visit St. Louis tomorrow (Sunday), but now I fear I may not go. St. Louis is a 2-hour, 125-mile drive.
After my 30-minute layover at Break Time, I started the car, and everything was back to normal: the temperature gauge stopped at its usual 45-degree angle. The gauge did not continue climbing to a 67-degree angle, even though I drove a good 3 or 4 miles.
What do you think happened? Should I make the trip to St. Louis tomorrow, or hold tight and first take the car to the dealership on Monday? Like I said, the Camry isn't even
2 years old yet, so it's still covered under the 3-year bumper-to- bumper warranty.