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MK6 GTI not Warming up in Cold

davisharr

davisharr

Go Kart Champion
Hey guys, had a quick question specifically for those of you like me who live in colder winter climates. My Mk6 hasn't been able to reach full operating temp on the way to work and school the last few days, water temp gauge hovers around 1/4, sometimes going a little higher or even dropping back down mid drive but never meeting its straight up position where it stays on a warmer day. Wondering if this could be a stuck thermostat issue or if its pretty normal for trying to drive through stop and go traffic when its -28°C (-18F). First winter with the GTI, and first winter living in this cold of a climate so I am unsure.
Thanks in advanced!
 
zef

zef

Drag Racing Champion
That sounds pretty normal to me. We had some sub-zero nonsense here last week and it took 10 minutes of highway driving to fully get up to temp.
 
Jaber

Jaber

Modero
Last week it was -8F and my coolant temp needle got to the middle by the time I got to work, which is a 20-25min city driving. At red lights, the needle would sometimes go down a bit.
 
lilonespaz

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
i mean its cold as balls outside at the temp. so im gonna vote thats normal... now if you were driving for a hour and such and it never warmed up that might be different.
How long is your commute?
I live in florida and my car doesnt warm up by the time i get to work but i also live 5 minutes away.
 
zrickety

zrickety

The Fixer
You can block off half the radiator by sliding a piece of cardboard in there. I've had to do that in extreme cold. Easily reversible in warm weather.
 
davisharr

davisharr

Go Kart Champion
lilonespaz said:
i mean its cold as balls outside at the temp. so im gonna vote thats normal... now if you were driving for a hour and such and it never warmed up that might be different.
How long is your commute?
I live in florida and my car doesnt warm up by the time i get to work but i also live 5 minutes away.
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Commute is about 20 minutes in the morning but traffic is so bad at 7am that I usually dont get above 40km/h. On a warmer day the car gets to temp very fast, I imagine if there where a thermostat issue it would cause strange behaviour even on mild to warmer days.

I am curious to see if it will get to temp today on the way home when I will actually be able to do highway speed.

Thanks for the reassurance guys! I thought maybe it was just because it was so damn cold, but wanted to make sure.
 
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gdub09

gdub09

Ready to race!
We had a few days in the negatives and mine would barely reach operating temp by the time I get to work, about a 30min commute. Yours sounds normal
 
lilonespaz

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
MmmmmBoost said:
Turn all the interior heat off and just use heated seats, it'll cut the warm up time down.
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this tooo. when you run the heater in your cabin it actually keeps the engine cooler.. learned that trick back in the day when i had a faulty fan in my 94' volvo 940 that would cause over heating if it sat still for too long.. windows down + heater at full blast would give me a few extra minutes before it would over heat in traffic vs not having the heater on... i used to commute with that 940 to work for about 4 years. (not including the 2 years i had it in highschool... but the fan worked then lol).


I actually ended up in this GTI because the volvo met a guard rail on a highway on ramp one night after work in the rain/oil filled turn in. Other wise i would probably still be in that bish.
 
PhthaloType

PhthaloType

Go Kart Champion
lilonespaz said:
learned that trick back in the day when i had a faulty fan in my 94' volvo 940 that would cause over heating if it sat still for too long.. windows down + heater at full blast would give me a few extra minutes before it would over heat in traffic vs not having the heater on...
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For me, it was a '94 Jeep Cherokee with a failing water pump that taught me that the heater core is just an auxiliary radiator. Except this was in a Texas summer when it was already 100°
 
M

MmmmmBoost

Ready to race!
davisharr said:
That actually worked wonders, Thank you! Didn't realize hvac pumped that much heat, but I guess it makes sense.
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No worries, temps are cold up here in Canada, I'ma make a cover for my lower grill so the coolant can heat up faster, my commute is so short that I barely reach operating temperature when I get to work.
 
M

markus037

Ready to race!
sounds normal to me. these cars take their time when its super cold out. my car would just start getting warm right before i pulled into work. it was 61 when i left work on friday and i was at operating temp before i even got to the parking lot.
 
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