Coolant Temperature Light comes on for a minute or 2 then turns off.

[Loren]

Didn't mean to offend. The question has been answered, and I thought it was worth stating.

The answer to that question and MANY more are in the owner's manual. It's worth reading, or at least skimming through.

[AtomicPunk]

Didn't mean to offend. The question has been answered, and I thought it was worth stating.

The answer to that question and MANY more are in the owner's manual. It's worth reading, or at least skimming through.

I'm a big fan of the owners manual; all sorts of great info in there. I 'd just hate to see anyone new turned off from what is usually a welcoming, friendly and informative forum. My apologies for the sarcasm.

[Eggman]

I 'd just hate to see anyone new turned off from what is usually a welcoming, friendly and informative forum. My apologies for the sarcasm.

Thanks for expressing this sentiment. I think it's what sets this forum apart from the rest of what's out there.

Besides, after the initial welcome there's plenty of opportunities for us to get on each other's nerves.

I find the range of folks drawn to this car interesting - never mind those who don't get it.

[Space Wolf]

I'd much rather have gauges for coolant temperature, but those aren't common features these days.

Why? Those two colored lights give enough information to drive. Green: engine is cold, be gentle, and Red: engine is too hot, stop at first opportunity. I admit a gauge gives more info, but is it really useful? Most of the time (always?) it just will tell everything is fine, meanwhile absorbing some attention.
In my opinion a gauge is only useful if you for some reason can't trust the cooling system.

[Eggman]

Why? Those two colored lights give enough information to drive. Green: engine is cold, be gentle, and Red: engine is too hot, stop at first opportunity. I admit a gauge gives more info, but is it really useful? Most of the time (always?) it just will tell everything is fine, meanwhile absorbing some attention.
In my opinion a gauge is only useful if you for some reason can't trust the cooling system.

I monitored my coolant temps using my OBDLink LX Bluetooth adapter and found it very useful. But after awhile I set it aside because I really don't Need it for normal, everyday driving.

But a coolant temperature gauge is there for us to use (and much more) if we really want one.

[Mark]

Why? Those two colored lights give enough information to drive. Green: engine is cold, be gentle, and Red: engine is too hot, stop at first opportunity. I admit a gauge gives more info, but is it really useful? Most of the time (always?) it just will tell everything is fine, meanwhile absorbing some attention.
In my opinion a gauge is only useful if you for some reason can't trust the cooling system.

I think you answered your own question, "why?". A coolant temperature gauge assures you everything is fine. I will admit that I am old school. The first thing mechanical that I ever drove was a 1948 Farmall H tractor when I was in 3rd grade. When my dad saw my foot could reach the clutch, I was driving. I can still picture the temperature & oil pressure gauges that were 4 feet in front of you on top of that tractor hood. Even as a young child I quickly learned the importance of those two gauges.

Just as you have already said, a temperature gauge assures you that everything is fine. Likewise, it's a better indicator when things aren't so fine. I would rather address an issue before it becomes a bigger issue, & I feel gauges allow you to do that much better.

I didn't come up with the name "idiot lights", but whoever came up with that term was probably "old school" like me. Even within the Mirage's owner manual there's a vagueness that I don't particularly care for. First it says - "If the light comes on during vehicle operation, it indicates that the engine is possibly overheating. Continued driving could make the engine fail. Immediately stop the vehicle in a safe place and take appropriate action. (Refer to "Engine overheating” on page 8-4.)" That's simple enough!

Then it states next - "The high coolant temperature warning light may illuminate when the vehicle has been driven at high speeds or on hilly roads. This illuminating does not necessarily indicate a problem. It should stop if you keep the engine running for a while or continue driving the vehicle." It's at this point, I am thinking - just give the car a water temperature gauge!!!!!

It would be useful for cold winter driving, too! I hesitate to block the radiator, because of the lack of a gauge. Yes, I know a person can come up with a way of monitoring all this. That doesn't change the fact that I feel it's lame for cars to not have this. It's not just a Mirage thing. My 2011 Subaru Forester doesn't have one either. Prior to these two vehicles, I don't remember a car not having one. I really don't care for many trend in new cars, but that's me. I respect those who feel otherwise.

Personally, I don't think touch screens belong on dashes of cars. At the same time - if a backup camera saves the lives for a one small child playing behind a car in a driveway or prevents an elderly person from backing into someone while in parking lot, I am all for it!!!

I had a new loaner vehicle for a few weeks recently. I'm sorry, but the dash was distracting. It's no wonder they put lane departure warning in cars! Toss all that crap out & give me a coolant temperature gauge instead!

By the way - that old 1948 Farmall H has push button start. Thus, I don't even get why everyone get all excited about that in cars? Push button start, that's been around for decades!

I am just doing my part to make this thread go to 16 pages!

Have a good day everyone!

[stevedmc]

Why? Those two colored lights give enough information to drive. Green: engine is cold, be gentle, and Red: engine is too hot, stop at first opportunity.

It must be nice living in a world where light bulbs never burn out. Even LED bulbs can fail prematurely.

If that red light goes out for whatever reason, you won't know your engine is running hot until it is too late. A temperature gauge might fail as well, but you are more likely to know something is wrong when a temp gauge fails. If the temp gauge never moves, something is wrong whether it be a bad sensor or the gauge itself. You fix the problem and move on.

For all I know, my red temperature light doesn't even work. I've never seen it illuminate, so honestly I have no way of knowing if it works or not. At 251,000 miles on my car, there is a good chance that many things will start to break soon.

[stevedmc]

I think you answered your own question, "why?". A coolant temperature gauge assures you everything is fine. I will admit that I am old school. The first thing mechanical that I ever drove was a 1948 Farmall H tractor when I was in 3rd grade. When my dad saw my foot could reach the clutch, I was driving. I can still picture the temperature & oil pressure gauges that were 4 feet in front of you on top of that tractor hood. Even as a young child I quickly learned the importance of those two gauges.

Just as you have already said, a temperature gauge assures you that everything is fine. Likewise, it's a better indicator when things aren't so fine. I would rather address an issue before it becomes a bigger issue, & I feel gauges allow you to do that much better.

I didn't come up with the name "idiot lights", but whoever came up with that term was probably "old school" like me. Even within the Mirage's owner manual there's a vagueness that I don't particularly care for. First it says - "If the light comes on during vehicle operation, it indicates that the engine is possibly overheating. Continued driving could make the engine fail. Immediately stop the vehicle in a safe place and take appropriate action. (Refer to "Engine overheating” on page 8-4.)" That's simple enough!

Then it states next - "The high coolant temperature warning light may illuminate when the vehicle has been driven at high speeds or on hilly roads. This illuminating does not necessarily indicate a problem. It should stop if you keep the engine running for a while or continue driving the vehicle." It's at this point, I am thinking - just give the car a water temperature gauge!!!!!

It would be useful for cold winter driving, too! I hesitate to block the radiator, because of the lack of a gauge. Yes, I know a person can come up with a way of monitoring all this. That doesn't change the fact that I feel it's lame for cars to not have this. It's not just a Mirage thing. My 2011 Subaru Forester doesn't have one either. Prior to these two vehicles, I don't remember a car not having one. I really don't care for many trend in new cars, but that's me. I respect those who feel otherwise.

Personally, I don't think touch screens belong on dashes of cars. At the same time - if a backup camera saves the lives for a one small child playing behind a car in a driveway or prevents an elderly person from backing into someone while in parking lot, I am all for it!!!

I had a new loaner vehicle for a few weeks recently. I'm sorry, but the dash was distracting. It's no wonder they put lane departure warning in cars! Toss all that crap out & give me a coolant temperature gauge instead!

By the way - that old 1948 Farmall H has push button start. Thus, I don't even get why everyone get all excited about that in cars? Push button start, that's been around for decades!

I am just doing my part to make this thread go to 16 pages!

Have a good day everyone!

I love you.

[daleWV]

Engine temperature gauges were replaced with idiot lights in most cars long ago mainly due to the owners who didn't understand the gauges and the normal temperature excursions of internal combustion engines. These people would misinterpret normal temperature fluctuations and bring their cars in for service calls, insisting there was something wrong when there really wasn't. It just wasn't worth the trouble to the auto manufacturers and their service departments. Of course it was a loss to all of us who could understand and prefer a gauge.

[Mark]

Engine temperature gauges were replaced with idiot lights in most cars long ago mainly due to the owners who didn't understand the gauges and the normal temperature excursions of internal combustion engines. These people would misinterpret normal temperature fluctuations and bring their cars in for service calls, insisting there was something wrong when there really wasn't. It just wasn't worth the trouble to the auto manufacturers and their service departments. Of course it was a loss to all of us who could understand and prefer a gauge.

I'm not sure how uncommon this has become in cars? The 2015 Impala that I use for "behind the wheel" lessons still has a temperature gauge, & I don't consider it to be a terribly old car.

Eliminating them is obviously a trend along with a lot of other things. The Mirage dash is relatively simple, & I appreciate that.