3.3TT Overheating engine warning need help

[Sickicks]

Hey guys, kinda a car noob so sorry if this is basic, I did some research and understand it could be coolant.

Some back story/notes

Has had every oil change on time besides this past one, about 1.5k miles late.
Its around 78 degrees here in NJ
Throughout the winter I had noticed the car would push cold air out with heat on when idle, when driving it would push heat.

I'm driving today, pushed her a little bit maybe 100mph or so, good pulls for about 30 minutes on the way home, pull in driveway and idle for roughly 20 minutes, all of a sudden as I'm pulling out I get a overheat warning and notice the heat is climbing rapidly, I believe though not sure I had the cold air on at the time, Immediately I shut the car off, Google and try to replicate after allowing to cool for a few minutes. I start by driving in comfort around block for maybe 1000 feet, nothing, then I begin driving in sport and do a mini pull too about 3k rpm, nothing still at normal about one away from middle tick on thermo, then I turn air on and it begins rapidly over heating.

At this point I'm panicking, I shut the car off and go to grab food in my other car, about a hour later I come home, open the hood and the engine is somehow HOTTER then it was prior to me shutting it off, I touched prior and it was okay to leave hand on, I come home and it's so f*cking hot. So naturally I say f*ck it, I don't even know what I'm doing but figure out maybe it's the coolant, I open radiator cap and pressurized coolant squirts out in engine bay, i quickly tighten it, clean it up, and then go to look at the white large resquivor on the opposite side, I can't tell if it's full or nothing, but it's still very hot.

I have since leaved it alone and am panicking, can someone knowledgeable please provide me with steps to take to fix this on my own or steps I should take to diagnose the issue, I will learn whatever it takes, I just know I can't afford multiple dealership trips right now.

If it's any help yes I am doing pulls nearly every time I drive, each trip it's pretty much standard I hit 120 at one point or another lol. I will lay off this for now.

 

[Kodiack]

Do your fans run after you shut the car off?
Have you noticed any coolant on the ground under the car?
Could be you lost some coolant and it needs to filled up and bled if it got airlocked.
I would take it to the dealer and they can do a leak test and a proper refill and bleed, Stingers have an electronic thermostat so bleeding is a pita if you dont have an OBD 2 scan tool to tell it to stay open.

 

[Sickicks]

Fans have ran almost all the time when I shut car off

Zero coolant leaking on ground.

I plan to take to dealer however I will check coolant tmr morning to see if low and then fill, if it still overheats I'll get them to bleed it

 

[JSolo]

Is there coolant in the reservoir tank (hot or cold) and at proper level - full?

 

[Sickicks]

Just looked at coolant level via dip stick I ran the car for 10 minutes to drive to store, let it cool down for 30, opened the radiator cap, nothing came out just some pressure, I went to reservoir, checked dip stick, barely anything in it besides a small layer at very end of stick, no where close to f or l. I'm gonna go get coolant, any idea on what coolant I should get?

 

[bfglitch]

I'm guessing you probably allowed the overflow to go completely dry and eventually sucked air into the system. By now you almost definitely have air in the coolant system. You should probably get the system filled and properly bled/purged of air.

 

[Rodtheviking]

Zerex Asian or Prestone All Makes is what I have used.

 

[JSolo]

I got a gal of the pink stuff from the dealer to keep the res topped off. That way they can't claim wrong coolant used. OP doesn't specify what year, so if going oem, match up the color.

 

[DKnMP]

so what was the outcome?

 

[Devin]

Could be thermostat or air in the system like @bfglitch said.

The reason it got "hotter" with the engine off is heat soak. The top of the engine is the intake plenum and is cooled by the intake air. Once you turn the car off the heat from the block then soaks into the plenum.

 

[The.Phantom.Stinger]

Sorry to revive a dead thread but I recently went through this and wished that I'd found the info on it on the forum so I'll be the guy that puts it out there.
There is a procedure to refilling the coolant on the 3.3L T-GDI with out the KDS Computer.

1. Either park with front of car higher than rear or elevate the front of car safely. The engine will need to be running with AC/Heater OFF
2. Remove engine cover and locate the steel tube feeding off the drivers side radiator hose. On said line will be a short rubber hose clamped on each end. You want to disconnect one side of this rubber hose. This is the vent for the coolant system.
3. Remove radiator cap and observe level of coolant. If not visible begin filling radiator slowly as to not overflow as the coolant works its way into the lines. Squeeze the radiator hoses to help coax the coolant into and through the system. Continue filling slowly and squeezing the hoses until the electronic thermostat opens on its own and allows the system to continue filling.
4. Fill radiator until system will not take any more without over flowing(This may take a while as the system holds 2.8 Gallons and the small amount that can be added at a time)
5. Replace radiator cap, reattach the vent hose and fill the reservoir to the OK level.
6. Inside the vehicle the temperature should be reading normal and holding. Turn on the Heat to the highest setting and feel for the warm air. If cold air is blowing then a bit more coolant is needed in order to fill the heater core.

Hopefully this saves someone the hassle of the dealership and their exorbitant fees. Definitely the most convoluted procedure to simply refill fluids I've encountered but I guess it works...

 

[Oso7]

Sorry to revive a dead thread but I recently went through this and wished that I'd found the info on it on the forum so I'll be the guy that puts it out there.
There is a procedure to refilling the coolant on the 3.3L T-GDI with out the KDS Computer.

1. Either park with front of car higher than rear or elevate the front of car safely. The engine will need to be running with AC/Heater OFF
2. Remove engine cover and locate the steel tube feeding off the drivers side radiator hose. On said line will be a short rubber hose clamped on each end. You want to disconnect one side of this rubber hose. This is the vent for the coolant system.
3. Remove radiator cap and observe level of coolant. If not visible begin filling radiator slowly as to not overflow as the coolant works its way into the lines. Squeeze the radiator hoses to help coax the coolant into and through the system. Continue filling slowly and squeezing the hoses until the electronic thermostat opens on its own and allows the system to continue filling.
4. Fill radiator until system will not take any more without over flowing(This may take a while as the system holds 2.8 Gallons and the small amount that can be added at a time)
5. Replace radiator cap, reattach the vent hose and fill the reservoir to the OK level.
6. Inside the vehicle the temperature should be reading normal and holding. Turn on the Heat to the highest setting and feel for the warm air. If cold air is blowing then a bit more coolant is needed in order to fill the heater core.

Hopefully this saves someone the hassle of the dealership and their exorbitant fees. Definitely the most convoluted procedure to simply refill fluids I've encountered but I guess it works...

I’m having the same exact issue! when I come to a stop at times my car overheats. first I noticed when I would turn on the AC it would overheat let’s say I would be at a drive-through, I would notice my car flashing with overheating signals. Turn off my vehicle, let it sit for about two minutes. Turn it back on and it was back to normal but now when I drive and come to a standstill at times, I find my car overheating. ( without AC on) Also last night I was at a standstill my car started to tell me it was overheating, I put it in park and waited a lil then I just had to start driving a little bit once I started driving It started cooling down. Do you think this process would help me out? Thank you in advanced

 

[NS_Stinger]

I’m having the same exact issue! when I come to a stop at times my car overheats. first I noticed when I would turn on the AC it would overheat let’s say I would be at a drive-through, I would notice my car flashing with overheating signals. Turn off my vehicle, let it sit for about two minutes. Turn it back on and it was back to normal but now when I drive and come to a standstill at times, I find my car overheating. ( without AC on) Also last night I was at a standstill my car started to tell me it was overheating, I put it in park and waited a lil then I just had to start driving a little bit once I started driving It started cooling down. Do you think this process would help me out? Thank you in advanced

First and foremost never remove the rad cap on a hot engine unless you want to potentially cover your face in burning hot coolant, saying that because of what the OP did.

First thing I'd do if I were you was go check your coolant overflow tank when the car engine is cold. You should see a Low and High line on your tank. When the engine is fully cold you should have coolant between the Low and High line. Can you check that first? If you shine you phone flash light at the tank you should easily see where your coolant level is.

 

[Oso7]

First and foremost never remove the rad cap on a hot engine unless you want to potentially cover your face in burning hot coolant, saying that because of what the OP did.

First thing I'd do if I were you was go check your coolant overflow tank when the car engine is cold. You should see a Low and High line on your tank. When the engine is fully cold you should have coolant between the Low and High line. Can you check that first? If you shine you phone flash light at the tank you should easily see where your coolant level is.

Oh I def won’t do that ! Haha and I just went ahead and checked and this is what I found

 

[NS_Stinger]

That looks WAY low on coolant, can you see any coolant in that tank at all? Is that a little bit of pink coolant near the bottom?

 

[NS_Stinger]

I would add the proper coolant to your tank when your engine is cold, on a cold engine add coolant until you reach the low line. The low line is basically the cold line, and the high line is where it should be when the engine is hot.

After you do that keep an eye on the engine temp and also keep an eye on your coolant level over the next few weeks to see if its disapearing again.

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Oh I def won’t do that ! Haha and I just went ahead and checked and this is what I found

You definitely have air in the system, that will have to be properly filled and bleeded. Collant tank is empty. And just filling it won't remove the air from the system. The fact you are overheating suggests you have some huge air pockets.

 

[Oso7]

That looks WAY low on coolant, can you see any coolant in that tank at all? Is that a little bit of pink coolant near the bottom?

Yea, there is a very small amount on the bottom the tank. I am going to head to a dealership in the morning to buy the correct coolant and fill it to the bottom line as you stated and keep and eye for it or should I just take it to get it properly filled and bleeded at this point?

 

[Oso7]

You definitely have air in the system, that will have to be properly filled. Collant tank is empty. And just filling it won't remove the air. The fact you are overheating suggests you have some huge air pockets.

Ahhh okay yea so don’t even bother buying coolant and filling up. Just take it straight to get bleed out and filled ?

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Ahhh okay yea so don’t even bother buying coolant and filling up. Just take it straight to get bleed out and filled ?

Pretty much. Of course you can try doing it yourself. But without kds tool, it takes time. There's thread on this forum about doing it yourself.