Fordfan2006

So my friend has a 2016 5.0 and every once an awhile he’ll turn it off and start it up and the temp gauge says 235 above it and the fans turn on and cool it down. The grille shutters are open and the coolant level is good has anyone else had this happen?

FordServiceCA

Hey Fordfan2006,

I'm sorry to hear about your friend's overheating truck. I would like to look into this issue.
If you have his VIN, km, phone number, full name and servicing dealer, please send it via private message. Or he contact us directly at 1 (800) 565-3673.

Anan
Ford Service Canada

Tvanpool

for the coolant temp to rise after shutting down a hot engine,
it is called heat soak. When the engine is shut down the flow of coolant is stopped so there is no more thermal transfer going on.
If the temp returns to normal shortly after restarting then there is no problem.

Fordfan2006

How can we keep it from heat soaking? I tell him to let it idle for a minute or so before shutting it off if it’s hot out and especially if he runs it hard. I just haven’t seen this before, not in any of the newer explorers 3.5 NA and 3.5 EB

Averysm09

Old thread, for that I apologize.

In Sept 2017 I was pulling my 30' camper to CO from VA and after a stop for maybe 10 minutes it was so hot it warned me and chimes went off (temp gauge pegged). It did start and I went on my way, but ever since I've noticed, even without pulling anything, it would get warmer than usual upon restart. I drive 70 miles one way to work and if I stop close to home to get something, once I restart it the temp gauge starts at 3/4 H and the fan runs high. It quickly (10-15 seconds) comes back to a normal range, but this doesn't seem like it should be normal.

I'm wondering if that since it was overheated on that stop last year that the coolant needs to be replaced? I don't know if this is a thing, but it would make sense to me that if the coolant gets overheated it would lose some of it's cooling properties. Currently at 75k miles.

RL1990

Heat soak is normal. If you are pushing the engine hard like towing heavy loads on hot summer days you should let it idle for a few minutes before shutting down. Raising the hood while it idles helps dissipate heat also Common to see police units working traffic details with the hoods up in the summer here in the south. Ideally you should drive it at slower speeds before stopping so air is still flowing through the radiator and the water pump has revs to circulate coolant faster but the load on the engine is light. This is why if you run a performance car on the track you do a cool down lap before stopping the engine. As long as the temperature returns to normal after start up there is nothing wrong.

Averysm09

Thank you for the info RL1990. I appreciate the advice and will implement these practices in the future.

msgtord

The problem is the shutters. Driving around town with the a/c on, the temp will stay at a fairly consistent 200 degrees. Because with the a/c on at slower speeds, the shutters stay open. Driving in the interstate at 75 mph with the HVAC off it's not unusual for me to see temps as high as 230 degrees, even on a cool day. If i turn on the HVAC, the temp will drop to 200 degrees very quickly. To me it appears as if the shutters are just really slow to react to differences in speed and the perimeters are set to high.

RL1990

It may be hard to believe but even if your coolant temperature is 230 it is perfectly normal. Newer vehicles run hotter than you may be used to. Ford doesn't put numbers on their gauges but GM trucks have 210 as the midpoint temperature. Ford is similar, I read that the thermostats on our trucks don't fully open until 210. Also the computer can set the shutters in 16 different positions not just fully open or closed. And the electric cooling fans can be turned on even when the shutters are closed to maintain temp. If things get to hot,as you noted, opening the shutters and turning on the fans bring the temp down quickly.