Hey guys,

Just wondering, I haven't had a Mazda before and my 2018 CX-5 is my first. I've noticed my CX-5's temp gauge gets to 90 degrees celcius, and fluctuates between 90 and 100 all the time while driving. And this on a cool day of 20 degrees celcius outside. Is this normal? Can anyone confirm if their temp gauge gets to 90 and stays there?

All the cars I've had before would stay at 90 and never move but it's the first time I see a temp gauge that jostles between 90 and 100. If we have a really hot day here (temps can climb to 40 degrees celcius where I live) I'd hate to see what it would be doing then.

Should I be concerned?

 

Do you get any warning lights ? On your gauge , when it climb to the maximum, is it anywhere near (redline) ?

 

Nope, no error messages or warnings, it just climbs to 100 degrees Celsius and then goes down again and then up again.

I called the dealer and spoke to the Sales Manager who has the exact same model as me and he took his for a drive because just like me, he wasn't displaying his temp gauge, but rather fuel consumption data instead. He called back later that day to say that he'd driven his and it also does the same, so its normal. It has an active temp display that shows 'real time' coolant temp, not like most cars that stay at a constant 90 degrees Celsius.

I read somewhere that modern cars actually get up to 100 degrees because it's more efficient for the engine to run at 100 instead of 90, but manufacturers make the gauge display 90 to keep us owner/drivers appeased.

 

Mazda is guilty of this as well. On the NC version of the MX5, there is a large dead period before the temperature gauge will indicate that it is getting hot. Often, by that time, it is too late.

 

give a look at this

https://www.cars.com/articles/should...1420680334271/

 

Personally, I prefer the way my Jeep works or my old Tahoe worked which is to tell you what the engine is doing at any particular point. This can be very important in towing or off-roading where you expect to see increases in temperature and, if it gets too high, you can stop or slow down and turn on the heater full blast or take other action that might be beneficial. Having the gauge sit at a given point forever and then suddenly climb to the overheating end can eliminate the time to take corrective action. For that matter, I feel the same about oil pressure and, if the car has it, the voltmeter. Instead of teaching people how to read the gauges, we have dumbed them down to the lowest common denominator which all but makes them no more informative than a warning light. Warning lights are fine, but they are best coupled with an accurate gauge.

 

I know what you mean about providing more detailed information. And in the vehicles that you had prior I could definitely see where that would be important especially if you're going slow off-roading or whatnot luckily for us and the CX5 that's really not a vehicle where you would be doing too much of that, as far as towing this isn't a vehicle that I would really tow something heavy very far just because of its brakes and its overall weight of the vehicle itself. But I do believe we also have a transmission cooler on this car? At least if I remember correctly from looking up some parts online?

I think one of the reasons why they don't bombard us with too much numerical information, is because most people wouldn't know what to do with that information I know my girlfriend wouldn't know. But she knows when a warning light comes on. There's something important that needs to be addressed as opposed to a temperature gauge climbing up and down giving her numerical differences...

I think in some ways it might have to do with the application in which a vehicle is designed to be used. When I look at other CX5 owners I find myself put into a category of soccer moms, grocery getters, and even some seniors. And there's nothing wrong with that category but it's a category that probrbly doesn't monitor or care too much for an abundance of additional information on how the vehicle is running.. hell I bet you most of those people don't even check your oil level between oil changes.......

 

Some people will even ignore warning lights. Regarding your oil checking comment, one female attorney in a law firm I used to be in bought a brand new Honda Civic and the engine seized at 63,000 miles. Turned out that she had never checked the oil and had never changed the oil or taken it in for any maintenance because she felt automotive services were a rip-off. She was stupid in other ways and, eventually, was disbarred for applying her stupidity to her dealings with client's funds.

However, I still take offense at having the information available to me limited by the intelligence of the general population, especially when that information is available through the modern computerized vehicle systems. I feel the same way about computer operating systems which are constantly doing things in the background, but which make it difficult, if not impossible to find out what they are doing.

I am an old curmudgeon, but I like being that way.