Have you checked oil and coolant levels? Assuming they are good is there any white exhaust smoke when starting? A leaking head gasket can cause a real quick increase in coolant if combustion is leaking into coolant passages.
Fan / Engine sound after turning the car off
I have A 2013 Chevrolet Traverse. After turning the car off I noticed a super loud sound coming from the engine. I am assuming it was the fan. The issue is that it ran for maybe 10 minutes after I turned the car off. When I looked at my temperature gauge it was almost all the way at the top. What could be wrong with it? I haven't turned it back on. Had run an errand which was 1 mile away from home and back.
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Check the coolant (and oil) level. If it is OK, then get the car scanned. You need to find out why it is running hot. Maybe the coolant temperature sensor has come unplugged or failed, and it is not really running hot.
In case you don't know: Don't ignore this problem. Bad things happen when engines overheat. Most overheating problems can be avoided with simple repairs.
-RandyMan
In case you don't know: Don't ignore this problem. Bad things happen when engines overheat. Most overheating problems can be avoided with simple repairs.
-RandyMan
I have a 2013 as well. Usually when I get done driving from work my temps shoot up when I stop driving. (Even after flushing the radiator and new coolant.) Do you park in a garage when you turn off your car or is it out on a driveway/street?
Also check your heater core lines. They're prone to snapping off. One of mine did and it was not a fun time.
Also check your heater core lines. They're prone to snapping off. One of mine did and it was not a fun time.
I have a 2013 that overheated when going around 25 mph when the temps are 70 degrees F or higher, such as mountain dirt roads, or even at 45 mph up inclines in warmer weather with other slower cars in front of me preventing me from speeding up. At highway speeds, it cooled down to normal without problems. When the car was shut down, the radiator fans kicked in super loud for 5-10 mins too. They are designed to do that when the engines are hot. Turned out coolant levels were low, below half the radiator level so when there wasn't enough wind going through the radiator (ie when not going at freeway speeds), the engine heated up because only half the radiator was functioning. You can't tell by looking just at the topside reservoir. You must check the radiator level.I have A 2013 Chevrolet Traverse. After turning the car off I noticed a super loud sound coming from the engine. I am assuming it was the fan. The issue is that it ran for maybe 10 minutes after I turned the car off. When I looked at my temperature gauge it was almost all the way at the top. What could be wrong with it? I haven't turned it back on. Had run an errand which was 1 mile away from home and back.
1. You need to wait for the car to COOL DOWN completely first.
2. Then use a flathead screwdriver to remove the pins holding the top front engine cover, and two large manual finger screws, and remove that cover in order to access the radiator cap. Do NOT open the radiator cap when the engine is hot or you will get burned!
3. Shine a light down to see coolant level. If it's super low, use the correct coolant type recommended by GM and fill it to almost the top. Do NOT use water and do NOT incorrectly mix water ratios as water doesn't carry as much heat away.
4. Then fill the topside reservoir to the COLD mark near the bottom of the reservoir. NEVER fill this reservoir with only water. ALWAYS use the correct GM recommended coolant. When the car engine gets hot and coolant is expelled, it'll come in here so don't overfill this. When coolant is used up, whatever's in here will fill the radiator. That's the theory anyways.
5. Turn on the engine and let it warm up. If the coolant in the radiator drops down, fill it up again.
6. As the engine warms up, the level should start coming back up after a few minutes. Close the radiator cap tightly before the level overfills. Put the front engine cover back on.
Your temps should be normal again and the fan shouldn't come on anymore. You may need to check every summer and add a little coolant this way.
Not sure why you think water doesn't carry away the heat. Usually, when you buy GM Dexron VI coolant, it come pre-mixed, which is why you don't add water. (If the bottle says "Concentrate," then you DO add water.) The "anti-freeze" in the water is added to prevent freezing at low temps and boiling at high temps. But it's still mostly water.
In the old days, anti-freeze only came in concentrate. 25-30 yrs ago, they started selling it in a (usually) 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and water so the consumer could just pour it in and be done with it; this is especially nice if you're on the road when you need it. (In the good old days, if I replaced a water pump, I'd make my own pre-mix with the concentrate I had left over, so I could carry a jug of pre-mix with me. In those days, water pumps were expected to die at 30-40K miles; there are a lot fewer water pump failures these days.) Pre-mixed is also a few bucks cheaper, since it has less anti-freeze in it. So for just topping off, it's cheaper for the consumer.
I'm purely speculating here, but I THINK offering pre-mix may also have been done in response to the regulations passed about disposing of anti-freeze. If you've got a big jug of it, and only need a little, you can only add half of what you need, then you add the other half as water. Then what do you do with the rest of the jug of concentrate? If you've got a pre-mixed jug, you'll use twice as much and therefore have less to get rid of, as well as it being already diluted 50%.
In the old days, anti-freeze only came in concentrate. 25-30 yrs ago, they started selling it in a (usually) 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and water so the consumer could just pour it in and be done with it; this is especially nice if you're on the road when you need it. (In the good old days, if I replaced a water pump, I'd make my own pre-mix with the concentrate I had left over, so I could carry a jug of pre-mix with me. In those days, water pumps were expected to die at 30-40K miles; there are a lot fewer water pump failures these days.) Pre-mixed is also a few bucks cheaper, since it has less anti-freeze in it. So for just topping off, it's cheaper for the consumer.
I'm purely speculating here, but I THINK offering pre-mix may also have been done in response to the regulations passed about disposing of anti-freeze. If you've got a big jug of it, and only need a little, you can only add half of what you need, then you add the other half as water. Then what do you do with the rest of the jug of concentrate? If you've got a pre-mixed jug, you'll use twice as much and therefore have less to get rid of, as well as it being already diluted 50%.
You're preaching to the pastor here. I got a 5 on the AP chemistry exam in high school, scored top 2% in the state of California chemistry exam, and took honors chemistry in college. That means I understand the science behind thermodynamics more than most, which the car cooling system is all about. My response was simply to inform that you don't just keep pouring water by itself into the radiator and reservoir bucket and expecting your cooling system to work as it should. The reason is you are diluting the heat carrying capacity of a proper GM recommended 50/50 mix, which as you correctly pointed, that most products you buy now, come premixed, which is why I specifically repeated multiple times about GM recommended wordings. Again, don't just keep pouring only water into your car cooling system and expecting it to run 100%. You need to remember, there are a lot of people who's never looked in the hood of their car before on these forums.Not sure why you think water doesn't carry away the heat. Usually, when you buy GM Dexron VI coolant, it come pre-mixed, which is why you don't add water. (If the bottle says "Concentrate," then you DO add water.) The "anti-freeze" in the water is added to prevent freezing at low temps and boiling at high temps. But it's still mostly water.
In the old days, anti-freeze only came in concentrate. 25-30 yrs ago, they started selling it in a (usually) 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and water so the consumer could just pour it in and be done with it; this is especially nice if you're on the road when you need it. (In the good old days, if I replaced a water pump, I'd make my own pre-mix with the concentrate I had left over, so I could carry a jug of pre-mix with me. In those days, water pumps were expected to die at 30-40K miles; there are a lot fewer water pump failures these days.) Pre-mixed is also a few bucks cheaper, since it has less anti-freeze in it. So for just topping off, it's cheaper for the consumer.
I'm purely speculating here, but I THINK offering pre-mix may also have been done in response to the regulations passed about disposing of anti-freeze. If you've got a big jug of it, and only need a little, you can only add half of what you need, then you add the other half as water. Then what do you do with the rest of the jug of concentrate? If you've got a pre-mixed jug, you'll use twice as much and therefore have less to get rid of, as well as it being already diluted 50%.
I thought that water had a greater specific heat (1 Btu/lb/°F - 0.445 J/kg) than ethylene- or polyethylene-glycol (0.75 Btu/lb/°F - 0.445 J/kg). Ethylene-glycol is the vast majority of the molar mass of DexCool (https://noordametals.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Dex-Cool-Anti-Freeze-Chevron.pdf).
Then again, I slept in chemistry class so that I could be ready for physics.
Then again, I slept in chemistry class so that I could be ready for physics.
Coolant mix also has a higher boiling point than plain water. Also being under pressure keeps the boiling point higher.
Corrosion inhibiters are very important in the coolant mix. Diluting with plain water is bad for the cooling system as corrosion protection is greatly diminished.
Corrosion inhibiters are very important in the coolant mix. Diluting with plain water is bad for the cooling system as corrosion protection is greatly diminished.
Water is great at absorbing (and hence transferring) heat because it has two hydrogen bonds on the outer edge of the oxygen atom that doesn't form a straight 180 degree line of sight. It's slightly curved. And the oxygen atom is slightly negative due to it grabbing the electrons from the hydrogen atoms, while the hydrogen atoms are slightly positive. This is why water boils at 100 degrees C while gasoline and other liquids that are MUCH heavier evaporates (ie boils) at a lower temperature. When you add other substances like salt to water, this allows it to behave differently, like lowering its freezing temperature from 0 degrees C to negative below zero. The same thing holds true with DEX-COOL because it's a mixture of water and multiple chemicals that increases the boiling point, which means it can carry more heat from the engine to the radiator to cool off the engine. If a liquid evaporates or boils at a lower temperature into a gas, it effectively cannot carry as much heat away, just like air molecules can't carry as much heat as a liquid.I thought that water had a greater specific heat (1 Btu/lb/°F - 0.445 J/kg) than ethylene- or polyethylene-glycol (0.75 Btu/lb/°F - 0.445 J/kg). Ethylene-glycol is the vast majority of the molar mass of DexCool (https://noordametals.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Dex-Cool-Anti-Freeze-Chevron.pdf).
Then again, I slept in chemistry class so that I could be ready for physics.
Here's what the 2013 Traverse manual says:
"Adding only plain water or some
other liquid to the cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water
and other liquids, can boil before
the proper coolant mixture will.
The coolant warning system is set
for the proper coolant mixture.
With plain water or the wrong
mixture, the engine could get too
hot but you would not get the
overheat warning. The engine
could catch fire and you or others
could be burned. Use a 50/
50 mixture of clean, drinkable
water and DEX-COOL coolant."
We seem to be getting into one-upmanship here. My beef was that all you said was "Do NOT use water and do NOT incorrectly mix water ratios as water doesn't carry as much heat away. " The layman, which many folks here are, would take that verbatim, which is misleading at best.
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