GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

2009 Vibe: Is the temp guage acutally a guage or is it a fancy idiot light?

I can't speak for the 09's but my 06 temp gauge is correct.

It's a guage. Furthest one on the right of the gauge cluster.

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The temp gauge is a fancy idiot light, like you said. According to my Scangauge, the factory needle reaches the middle at +/-155F. Normal operating temp is +/-190F. I've seen the Scangauge momentarily display 230F and the needle on the factory gauge is still in the middle. Duh.

If it's anything like my 2003 was, it's just a fancy 3-way idiot light. Cold, somewhere between cold and overheating, and overheating. Many cars don't have truthful temperature gauges, they do not move in a linear fashion corresponding to coolant temperature. Once they get up to temperature, they'll stay planted right in the center and the temperature could spike up 20 degrees and the gauge won't move. You won't see the normal fluctuations with engine temperature increases such as when you're stopped in traffic and decreases once you get going again. My guess is they dumb down the gauge to keep the owners from freaking out because they see their temperature creeping up on them when they're stopped and it's really hot out.My Hyundai's like that too, the needle doesn't move off cold until 140 degrees or so, at 180 degrees the needle plants itself in the middle and will stay there in that same spot until at least 215 or so (that's the highest I've ever noticed it.) But some of the GM products I once owned *did* have temp gauges that would fluctuate with the coolant temp. Best way to find out is to hook up a ScanGauge and check coolant temps.

I didn't think it was a true gauge - thanks for the confirmation.Dave

Who would have thought! Not really a gauge.

I wondered how it could warm up to temp so fast. I'll have to look at my 04 now. Just can't trust anyone. I sure loved puting the full digital dash in my 91 Regal. Got rid of the idiot light. I wonder if a sensor swap would work with the current gage face.

leemur, I would think that the sensor at the engine transmits the actual temp and that the "gauge" on the dash is wired to absorb a wide fluctuation and still stay still in the "normal" spot.

Mine seems accurate enough.

"accurate enough" is what GM/Toyota is aiming for.

...it's a Goldylocks gauge:"too HOT" = full scale UP."just right" = middle scale."too COLD" = full scale DOWN.

My 91 Regal had an idiot light in the dash which used a hotnot hot sensor. When I put in the digital dash I had to change the sensor to a variable readout sensor that sent varying voltage to the dash (ECM). Rather than 090 voltage (whatever measure it was), it sent 0 through 90, giving graduation to the dash gage.I was wondering if you put a variable voltage sensor in would the stock gage be able to read that and diplay the variation. Or is the gage just an idiot light also.

What's 'accurate enough' about a temp gauge that WILL NOT reflect a +/-75F coolant temp swing??????????? That's what an idiot light does, not a gauge. Again, the Vibe temp gauge (like most other manufacturer's factory gauges) are glorified idiot lights.

I would prefer a true gauge. But I think ColonelPanic is right that the manufacturers don't want people to see a +/- 75* swing in temp.Dave

...funny, on earlier 60-70's cars, I can remember actually "seeing" the temperature gauge go down slightly whenever I turned the inside heater and fan on "high"...and it (heater) working like an un-thermostated radiator.

How about this.......mfg's install an accurate gauge with a simple, one sentence explanation in their owners manual of the normal operating temp range. Who'm I kidding, ain't gonna happen.

Quote, originally posted by djb383 »How about this.......mfg's install an accurate gauge with a simple, one sentence explanation in their owners manual of the normal operating temp range. Who'm I kidding, ain't gonna happen. How many people read the owner's manual (or follow the recommended maintenance)?

Quote, originally posted by Scooter Dave »How many people read the owner's manual (or follow the recommended maintenance)?..........how true, kinda sad, isn't it. Who says you have to be smart to invent something......stupid people invented speed bumps.

I watched my gauge today and found it interesting that it slowly went from cold to normal (as I was driving in town at 25mph), like it was reading an actual warmup process.

Quote, originally posted by leemur »I watched my gauge today and found it interesting that it slowly went from cold to normal (as I was driving in town at 25mph), like it was reading an actual warmup process.Sounds like when it initially moves to normal it may not yet be at standard operating temperature. Once at it's "normal" spot, does it ever move? Is it in the same position when you are driving 60 mph and when in stop and go traffic with the A/C on? A ScanGauge II or a Kiwi would tell you the actual temp in real time.

Quote, originally posted by Scooter Dave »I would prefer a true gauge. But I think ColonelPanic is right that the manufacturers don't want people to see a +/- 75* swing in temp.DaveThat's absolutely true. My '92 BMW has a "true" temperature gauge, and I pay attention to it. My '04 VW Jetta had an idiot gauge, but then I altered the code in the instrument cluster so that it, too, read true.If the gauge isn't a true gauge, I find I simply don't pay attention to it. If it's showing me, in real time, temperature fluctuations, then I find myself checking it, like I should.--Chris

burn up an engine easily= we have a 2003 vibe and later got a 2004 corolla also ( about 90 k each). i had major discussions on some corolla web site about the temp gage. as these cars get older there,s more chance of a heater hose or radiator or water pump malfunction. it sure would be nice to be able to depend on your temp gage reading ! i wonder if any of you guys considered installing a temp gage that shows actual coolant temp?

A ScanGuage is the way to go and gives so much more info in addition to that of a temp gauge. It just plugs into the ALDL port under the dash and can be moved from one car to the next ('96 and later OBDII). http://www.scangauge.com/

This is an interesting and enlightening discussion regarding the temp gauge. My Vibe is the third Toyota I've owned and I've noticed that the gauges were all consistent in how they did not fluctuate regardless of the driving conditions when up to operating temperature. I have always assumed that the thermostat was very sensitive and effective at maintaining a very constant coolant temperature. I certainly do not doubt that the temp gauge has been "dumbed down" to compensate for the ignorant, appliance driving masses. Automobile manufacturers have been doing this for decades with the fuel gauge.I remember reading once where one manufacturer (GM, I think) proudly engineered a very accurate fuel gauge for one of their luxury vehicles and was subsequently inundated with complaints about how the car was a gas guzzler since the gauge dropped off of full immediately when the car was driven, and even more instances where customers were running out of gas and getting stranded when the gauge read empty."One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. The bamboozle has captured us. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." - Carl SaganPlatinumVibe08

In winter driving conditions, the t-stat is only slightly open and will cause the coolant to rise to a predetermined temp and once there, the coolant temp will fluctuate very little. In summer driving conditions, the t-stat is essentially wide open all the time once the engine is at operating temp. In summer driving the coolant temp can and will fluctuate substantially but the factory gauge won't indicate those fluctuations and those fluctuations are perfectly normal.