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I have been having an ongoing issue with my Corvette overheating at idle or at slow speeds. I have videos of the temps rising and the radiator fan not running. It has happened 4 times in the last few months and left me stranded until it cools off or until I can get the fan to come back on by turning the car on and off. The dealer cant "replicate the issue" and told me there is nothing they will do for me. It has been to them 3 times and this most recent visit was less than pleasant and unprofessional to say the least, so I'm going to drive a few hours south to another dealer to see if I can get some help. I have contacted GM but I have not heard back yet.
2014 Base Stingray.
So, it overheats *except* when the Dealer has it? Seems like an "overheat when idling" should be easy enough to replicate for the dealer visit. Pull up to the shop; idle engine; show mechanic. Right? What happens? How often does it happen?
How do you know it's overheating? What is the coolant temp shown to be during the overheat? When you say "car left me stranded" -- does the car shut down or something?
I'm not doubting your story -- just need more facts.
So, it overheats *except* when the Dealer has it? Seems like an "overheat when idling" should be easy enough to replicate for the dealer visit. Pull up to the shop; idle engine; show mechanic. Right? What happens? How often does it happen?
How do you know it's overheating? What is the coolant temp shown to be during the overheat? When you say "car left me stranded" -- does the car shut down or something?
I'm not doubting your story -- just need more facts.
Correct, it overheats until they begin troubleshooting it. It did it 1-2 times a month at first but now its more consistent so maybe they can help. It would only do it at idle or very low speeds but it was very intermittent. Now its happened 3 times in the last 2 days. The car begins overheating so I snap a quick video for the dealership then turn it off, I've managed to catch it 4 or so times at around 240-250 water temp and around 270 for oil temp by the time I can shut it down. The radiator fan isn't operating when this happens. If I turn the car on and off a few times sometimes it'll kick on full blast and sometimes it'll stay off with the car still in the high temp range. It's never shut down on its own as I have caught it getting hot rapidly.
I believe sharpie711 100%. My 2015 has showed to overheat “by looking at the temp. Gauge”, where the reading is one mark below red. This issue has happened 3 times once a year. Dealer parked my poor car in the sun, AC on high, front bumper toward a wall and letting the car idle for God knows how long. Overheating could not be duplicated. Unlike OP I could not exit the car to check fan because I was in heavy traffic. The last time overheating happened I was able to shut the car off, crank, and then the water temp. needle dropped to normal despite driving conditions.
I wish I knew how to insert the Outer Limits music on this thread.
Sounds like a fan problem but then again I'm mostly just a DIY piddle around the garage making little mods. If you have the know how/electric tester, check power to the radiator when this happens. I realize you'll have to try duplicating in driveway or garage or safe place to pull over. If possible, when cooled down,unplug, inspect, clean pins in the electrical connector. Possible dirt/water got inside over years. Don't know if there is another part or connection that could fail just intermittently. Good luck with video at dealer. Maybe they'll be able to run with what you got.
Last edited by madrob2020; Aug 6, 2017 at 07:51 AM.
Temp Sensor
Fan
Wiring harness
Wiring connector
Software glitch
Bad thermostat
Bad water pump
Have you checked your radiator visually to see it there is any obstruction. (leaves, dirt, road debris).
No engine light illuminated but the engine bay felt hotter than normal with a slight burning smell. That leads me to believe it wasn't a gauge issue. The dealership checked all the wiring, relays and the fan. They said everything seemed to be functioning normally and that they cant see any issues.
Does turning the AC on have any effect when the fan is not running? The AC system will also command the fan on since it is needed to pull air across the condenser. If the radiator cooling fan doesn't come on when the AC is operational then this rules out a single sensor since that commanded operation is different than that from the coolant sensor.
Because you find the fan will sometimes come on when stopping and then re-starting the engine a fan relay would be the most likely suspect. Because you are seeing both increased coolant and oil temperatures that rules out a indicating gauge/sender issue since it is highly unlikely both of these separate indicating circuits would fail together creating a false indication of an overheat condition.
I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow and GM seemed to be on my side that it needs to be fixed. I hope this next dealership I'm going to can help me out more than the last one.
I have been having an ongoing issue with my Corvette overheating at idle or at slow speeds. I have videos of the temps rising and the radiator fan not running. It has happened 4 times in the last few months and left me stranded until it cools off or until I can get the fan to come back on by turning the car on and off. The dealer cant "replicate the issue" and told me there is nothing they will do for me. It has been to them 3 times and this most recent visit was less than pleasant and unprofessional to say the least, so I'm going to drive a few hours south to another dealer to see if I can get some help. I have contacted GM but I have not heard back yet.
2014 Base Stingray.
I've seen this issue on two different '14 Stingray's. I believe it is a software glitch somewhere. Both of the C7's we re-flashed with HP Tuners and we set the fan to kick on at a lower temp. We thought it had fixed the issue on both cars, one never had the issue again. The other didn't have an issue for almost two years! Then one day we were out coming back from a meet and it mysteriously happened again.
We've never been able to replicate it, I can't believe it went almost two years and 8,000 miles with out doing it. It's a tricky problem to diagnose. If your dealer takes well to suggestions. You might recommend re-flashing the PCM with an updated version if one available and hope that works.
Last edited by sales @ WXM; Aug 8, 2017 at 10:00 PM.
Reason: typo
I too also have a 2014 that is randomly overheating. I have taken the car to the dealership 4 times now and have been sent back home with nothing to fix.
The last time it happened, I was actually just arrived at home and was sending a text message when I noticed the needle started to climb.
It has been very sporadic when it has happened to me. About a month apart each time. It's been 2 weeks since my last episode.
I contacted GM and their service has been terrible. They kinda told me the same thing as the dealership, well if we can't find anything wrong with it we can't fix it. There are a lot of threads about 2014 models overheating in traffic/slow speeds
Your video doesn't show any over heating. I see no warnings and the final coolant temp only reaches 240 after idling for a while. Oil temp is well within temp limits so isn't a concern.
Here are the cooling fan operating temperatures and pressures.
At 240 degrees your cooling fan should have been on high speed. I couldn't tell whether it was or wasn't but the car definitely didn't over heat through the video.
Your video doesn't show any over heating. I see no warnings and the final coolant temp only reaches 240 after idling for a while. Oil temp is well within temp limits so isn't a concern.
Here are the cooling fan operating temperatures and pressures.
At 240 degrees your cooling fan should have been on high speed. I couldn't tell whether it was or wasn't but the car definitely didn't over heat through the video.
Bill
it never turned on from what I saw. It scares me to see coolant temps that high though I'm doing everything I can to make my car run at 200* or less in 100* ambient temps lol
Your video doesn't show any over heating. I see no warnings and the final coolant temp only reaches 240 after idling for a while. Oil temp is well within temp limits so isn't a concern.
Here are the cooling fan operating temperatures and pressures.
At 240 degrees your cooling fan should have been on high speed. I couldn't tell whether it was or wasn't but the car definitely didn't over heat through the video.
Bill
Ya, the fan never came on at all. 240 is my limit now before I turn the car off. If I don't touch it, it goes all the way to 260+ and a message pop ups that says engine overheating, idle engine - which is funny because it is idling anyways when it climbs from 200 to 240+. Trying not to destroy my engine. Once I turn it back on immediately it is slow to churn, but the fans immediately kick in and within a few seconds the temp starts to drop to what I see as "normal" (<200).
That being said, I've been in intense rush hour traffic and the fans are good and never goes above 205. Seems to be sporadic but I kinda have a feel for when it will happen if the temps start to randomly rise.
I have been having an ongoing issue with my Corvette overheating at idle or at slow speeds. I have videos of the temps rising and the radiator fan not running. It has happened 4 times in the last few months and left me stranded until it cools off or until I can get the fan to come back on by turning the car on and off. The dealer cant "replicate the issue" and told me there is nothing they will do for me. It has been to them 3 times and this most recent visit was less than pleasant and unprofessional to say the least, so I'm going to drive a few hours south to another dealer to see if I can get some help. I have contacted GM but I have not heard back yet.
2014 Base Stingray.
The 2015 and newer went to a cooler thermostat, you may want to try. Never had a problem on my 15.
2014 Stingray overheating
