Overheat Livina

Hi mga ka-LOOP!

Share ko lang my experience with my 3 year old Livina. I went up to Baguio nung Jan 1 2014 with my family, 3 adults and 2 toddlers in the car, via Kennon Rd. This was our annual Baguio trip, 2nd time with the Livina, the 1st time with it was last January 2013.

A day before the trip, our Livina was checked in Nissan for all fluids (radiator, brake, etc) before our trip, changed oil na din, checked brake pads, ok naman lahat.

So biyahe na, we left Taguig 6am, stopped at the base of Kennon around 11am (yung magkatapat na Petron and Shell) for 15 minutes to rest the engine and get some snacks na rin before the uphill on Kennon. I stuck to 80-90kmh for the whole of SCTEX, NLEX and TPLEX para mabait sa engine.

So after 15 minutes or so, we start the climb on Kennon. Hindi rin hataw along Kennon, regular pace lang, besides with the 2 kids I had, hindi talaga ako kaskasero. Unfortunately, a few meters bago umabot dun sa infamous Lion Head, my Engine Temp Light lit up red. The aircon wasn't on since the start of Kennon Rd. and the windows were down to enjoy the breeze. Buti na lang malapit na dun sa Lion head so I stopped the car, pulled out the car manual and did as the manual said.

"When the Engine Temp lights up red, do not stop the engine. Stop the car as soon as safely possible, open all windows, turn a/c temp all the way to "HOT" setting, then turn A/C blower on to max setting until engine temp light goes off." I also opened the hood, and saw the fluid in the coolant reservoir bubbling (I didn't open it). The radiator wasn't blowing out steam/smoke naman.

I did what the manual advised, and after 3-5 minutes, nawala yung engine temp red light. I let the engine run for about a minute more, tapos turned it off and we waited around 15 minutes to allow the engine to properly cool.

After the 15 minutes, we left the Lion head, same setting - no aircon, windows down, relaxed pace. Just before reaching the final turn of Kennon, Engine Temp light was red again. So I did the same thing as before, as stated above.

Ang nakakainis is, this is the 2nd time that happened to my Livina on the way to Baguio. The first time was last Jan 2013, but that was even worse, we had to stop 4 times on Kennon because of the Engine Temp Light. It improved a bit (2x na lang this year) kaso I can't believe this is happening with a 3 year old car. My previous, 5-year old car (Civic ES) had no such issues at all with our annual Baguio trips.

Our Livina (2010) was casa maintained for the 3 years that it was under warranty. The warranty expired March 2013 pero the regular PMS/change oil/etc were still continued albeit outside the casa (in Bosch, Servitek, etc).

Funnily enough, kahit grabe sa traffic in Manila, as in 30 minutes nakahinto walang galawan na tanghaling tapat in summer, naka on pa yung aircon, our Livina has never overheated in Manila. Paakyat ng Baguio lang talaga. Yung mga ibang mas lumang kotse at jeep pa nga paakyat ng Baguio wala akong nakitang nakahinto sa gilid ng Kennon because of overheat.

I've just gotten back from Nissan to have the defective fuel float replaced (very odd for a 3 year old car), Nissan has replaced it already so no problems with that, kaso eto naman ngayon.

Has anybody experienced the same issues with their Livina? Ano kaya problema nito? Thanks in advance LOOPERS!

Sad to hear that about your livina. We went to Baguio din last christmas and I never encountered any problems with the GL puno pa ako 7 kami lahat na sakay and todo harurot pa ako sa pag overtake sa mga trucks and ang rpm ko around 3000 to 5000 pa umaabot. Yung father ko na ka convoy ko medyo tumaas ang temp ng chevy venture niya pero never umabot sa point na malapit na mag overheat, what he does is always on ang aircon niya during trips like that kasi yung fan ng aircon helps cool the radiators. You may want to check your radiator fans baka mahina na ang buga or baka medyo palyado na talaga kaya ganun. Anyway goodluck sir and hope this helps.

Wild guess. You mentioned patay ang aircon pag akyat mo. Di ba isang aux fan lang ata ang Livina natin and nag on sya pag nag on si aircon. Di kaya ito ang problema? Chairman Lydemer, since mas kabisado mo to, ano sa tingin mo?

hi sir bin diesel - baka pa check ko yung fans, pero I'm not sure kung may prob yung fans kasi ang lakas ng tunog ng fan pag naka-on, natatawa nga ako dun dati sa livina nung cinompare ko sa Civic namin dati kasi parang todo buga yung fan nung Livina pag naka-on sya sa lakas ng sound

hi sir blooperoo - so you're saying po na hindi talaga nag-o-on yung fan natin unless naka on yung aircon? Kung tama po yung theory niyo, baka nga po tama kasi sa Manila like I mentioned in my post (laging naka on yung aircon) so baka kaya siya hindi umiinit, tapos nung umakyat kami ng Kennon na naka off yung aircon, added stress sa makina yung incline, ayun nag over heat.

Tama po kaya yun?

Under load kasi engine kaya mabilis mag init sa incline. Kaya pag naka off ang aircon, naka off din ang fan.

Since walang temp gauge ang livina natin, the Red Temp Icon light should blink several times indicating high engine temp (equivalent sa 3/4 sa temp gauge). Tapos dapat steady red ang Temp Icon light pag nag overheat na talaga ito. Well in my case, hindi nag blink to warn me na close to overheat na ako last December. Bigla na lang sya umilaw ng steady red, Nasira kasi fan ko kaya sya nag overheat.

Had to tow my vehicle to NGO and replace its fan. Since out of warranty na I had to shoulder the expense. And yes 1 lang ang fan ng livina.
Total cost in labor and materials = Php 14,000  Bye-bye 13th month ako  

Hello, just sharing lang po. The way I understand how the engine cooling system and aircon works for cars IMHO lang po:

1. Engine cooling system: Works independently with or without aircon.
- Thermostat/Thermal Switch: monitors the engine temperature. When it temp goes up on a pre determined level, the switch activates on and off the Coolant Pump and Radiator Fan.
- Radiator Fan or Blower: Turned on and off by the Thermostat/Thermal switch. Blows air to pass through radiator fins.
- Radiator: Heat exchanger that transfers heat using coolant fluid/water solution.
- Coolant pump: Turned on and off by the Thermostat/Thermal switch to circulate coolant/water fluid from the radiator to the pipes or tunnel in the engine and then back to the radiator to be cooled off by the Fan or Blower.

Note: The Fan and Water Pump are turned on and off at the same time by the Thermal Switch.


2. Aircon system: Works independently from Engine cooling system.
- Thermostat: monitors cabin temperature. When cabin temp is below the user set desired settings, it turns on aircon compressor to circulate Freon into Condenser and then back to the Evaporator and simultaneously turns on the fan to blow into the evaporator.
- Evaporator: located just behind the Radiator. It is a heat exchanger used to evaporate Freon back into liquid state prior to passing through the compressor again.
- Radiator Fan or Blower: Turned on and off by the Aircon Thermostat/Thermal switch. Blows air through the evaporator fins.
- (Condenser): located inside cabin. It is a heat exchanger used to transfer heat from ambient cabin air.
- (Aircon Blower): blows ambient cabin air passing through the condenser fins before going out the aircon ducts.

Note: The Compressor and Fan are turned on and off at the same time by the Thermostat.

In the case of our GL, both systems work independently, except that they share one singe Fan. They can work simultaneously at the same time, one at a time or as needed by them. And yes, maingay talaga yung Fan natin, kasi malaki ito halos sakop yung buong harap ng radiator. Sometimes, napansin ko on a cool windy day, naka throttle down ang speed ng Fan, hindi masyado malakas, then lumalakas kapag mainit na or may load ang engine.

So when going uphill, it is best to have the Aircon turned off. This will help generate less heat coming from the evaporator. The Fan will be dedicated solely on the Engine Cooling System.

Have you tried looking in front of the radiator grill and fins. It happened to me on our old car when it overheats; the mechanic was unable to find anything technically wrong with the system. Except that we both found out there was a torn plastic bag sucked up in front of the radiator grills and it got stucked, thus preventing cold ambient air to pass through the grills.

Then again I may be wrong. This is just me and my understanding how the system works, and sharing my experience. The fault can be of many things: Weak radiator fan; worn or not working coolant/water pump; busted Thermal Switch; Blown Fuse, etc. Some cars have two independent Fans or Blowers for each Engine Cooling Management and Air-conditioning.  

Dagdag ko pa pala, usually sa Radiator naka incorporate din on a separate piping yung oil cooler. The engine oil passes through the oil cooler in the radiator to be cooled off. I am not sure if our GL is equiped with Transmission oil cooler also.

When going uphill, your overdrive should be turned off (O/D OFF). Otherwise mag hunt yung automatic transmission from low to high and high to low gears all the time, which causes overheat sa transmission and sa engine. Also, downshifting to D2 or 1 while driving uphill for a long time in these gears would over heat the engine. Gear 1 gamit ko lang kapag sobrang taas ang climb like parking sa Robinsons Galleria, short driving time lang naman. D2 naman kapag downhill driving for added engine break support.


http://ask.cars.com/2008/08/what-is-the-tra.html

thanks for the inputs mga ka-LOOP.

Oo nga I checked kanina 1 lang fan ng GL. Hindi ko na check yung harap ng radiator kung may nakaharang na plastic, ma check nga ulit mamaya.

In my case (on both times), hindi nag blink yung Engine Temp light, steady red kagad nakita ko. Actually naka abang ako dun sa ilaw the whole time ng paakyat ng Kennon kasi nga ngyari na siya last year so inaabangan ko kung mangyayari ulit this year.

Medyo napaaga yung saya ko kasi akala ko hindi na siya iilaw dahil malapit na kami dun sa Lion head sa Kennon, ayun umilaw tuloy bigla

I guess kelangan ko na lang dalhin sa casa para mapa check sa kanila kung ano problema talaga

It's a 2 speed fan, when the aircon is turned on the fan will blow sa low setting para lumamig ang aircon, then kapag tumataas ang temp the thermostat will give a signal to increase air flow. Yun ang naririnig natin na malakas na buga ng fan to prevent over heating. If you are about to turn off your engine and you hear the fan blowing hard best practice is to let the fan finish first before turning the engine off.

whew! thanks... very interesting... learned a lot  

manoktot wrote:thanks for the inputs mga ka-LOOP.

Oo nga I checked kanina 1 lang fan ng GL. Hindi ko na check yung harap ng radiator kung may nakaharang na plastic, ma check nga ulit mamaya.

In my case (on both times), hindi nag blink yung Engine Temp light, steady red kagad nakita ko. Actually naka abang ako dun sa ilaw the whole time ng paakyat ng Kennon kasi nga ngyari na siya last year so inaabangan ko kung mangyayari ulit this year.

Medyo napaaga yung saya ko kasi akala ko hindi na siya iilaw dahil malapit na kami dun sa Lion head sa Kennon, ayun umilaw tuloy bigla

I guess kelangan ko na lang dalhin sa casa para mapa check sa kanila kung ano problema talaga

There is a separate thermo switch that activates the fan when the aircon is off. This might be the culprit as the fan is switched on differently when aircon is on. What you can do is leave the car on idle without turning the aircon on. You can drive leisurely and wait for the fan to go on. If this does not happen in the next 10-15 minutes then your thermo switch could be busted. This could explain why the overheat light does not go on when you are in manila as your aircon is switched on as against when you went up to Baguio wherein you switched the aircon system off.