Normal Coolant Temps on 2023

[4RL75]

Hello

I´m new with a 4Runner, I would like input on the normal cooling temps.
I usually see 188.6 F. The max I´ve seen is 194 F when driving "sporty". I find it a tad low, previous vehicles I´ve driven tend to be in the 195 to 203 F temps.

I presume it´s all normal, just getting to know the vehicle, just bear with me please. I live in a tropical climate, no winter here, that´s why I ask. "Winter" here is 75F ambient temps. So think how your truck behaves on summer.

Thanks in advance

 

[baldrik78]

Hello

I´m new with a 4Runner, I would like input on the normal cooling temps.
I usually see 188.6 F. The max I´ve seen is 194 F when driving "sporty". I find it a tad low, previous vehicles I´ve driven tend to be in the 195 to 203 F temps.

I presume it´s all normal, just getting to know the vehicle, just bear with me please. I live in a tropical climate, no winter here, that´s why I ask. "Winter" here is 75F ambient temps. So think how your truck behaves on summer.

Thanks in advance

Thermostat opens at 185. Once up to temp, my truck lives within a few degrees of that. Season doesn't really matter.

 

[1000MPH]

IIRC, for my 2010…
182-195° for coolant.
145-213° for ATF at the Torque Converter
145-192° for ATF in the pan.
I might be missing some outliers.

Edited.

 

[4RL75]

Thanks guys!!!

 

[fkheath]

Hello

I´m new with a 4Runner, I would like input on the normal cooling temps.
I usually see 188.6 F. The max I´ve seen is 194 F when driving "sporty". I find it a tad low, previous vehicles I´ve driven tend to be in the 195 to 203 F temps.

I presume it´s all normal, just getting to know the vehicle, just bear with me please. I live in a tropical climate, no winter here, that´s why I ask. "Winter" here is 75F ambient temps. So think how your truck behaves on summer.

Thanks in advance

As others have said, that is pretty normal. The beauty of the 4Runner is it never overheats. Never.

I've had several Jeeps over the years (old Cherokee and Wranglers) that would overheat when rock crawling.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

As others have said, that is pretty normal. The beauty of the 4Runner is it never overheats. Never.

I've had several Jeeps over the years (old Cherokee and Wranglers) that would overheat when rock crawling.

4Runner will run hotter, close to overheat, when idling in 100 F desert heat.

 

[IDyeti]

OP you monitoring with Scangauge or something else?

 

[02SE]

4Runner will run hotter, close to overheat, when idling in 100 F desert heat.

What temps have you seen?

I've been fourwheeling in low-range in sand, in 110° F temps, with the A/C blasting, and the warmest I've seen for coolant temps is 197° F, and 207° F for convertor temps on my Scangauge. Both temps are well below where you would get an overheating warning.

 

[1000MPH]

I need to change my first post a little. Found a couple of pics of my ScanGauge from a roadtrip in 102° temps. Shifting to 4th for steep grades helps to keep torque converter temps reasonable.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

What temps have you seen?

I've been fourwheeling in low-range in sand, in 110° F temps, with the A/C blasting, and the warmest I've seen for coolant temps is 197° F, and 207° F for convertor temps on my Scangauge. Both temps are well below where you would get an overheating warning.

We saw it get close to the H on the dash while idling with AC on in St. George and Las Vegas with ambient temps over 100 F. Had to shut it down. I was picking up a jeep fender for a friend from a wrecker in St George with my wife waiting in the 4R with AC on. Vegas was just idling in stopped traffic. Otherwise never even close to overheating the rest of its 343K miles.

 

[4RL75]

OP you monitoring with Scangauge or something else?

I use Torque Pro App

My driving conditions are pretty basic:Transmission on D, around town and freeway on 5th gear at 70 mph. Nothing extreme.
A few months ago I was climbing a mountain for about 45 minutes and only paid attention to Transmission temps, they were high, but I was in S mode mostly 2nd and 3rd, it was really steep. Transmission was the hottest I´ve seen. 215 for the pan and 239 on the torque converter. Wasn´t tracking coolant temps at that time. I do remember the coolant needle right in the middle.

 

[4RL75]

We saw it get close to the H on the dash while idling with AC on in St. George and Las Vegas with ambient temps over 100 F. Had to shut it down. I was picking up a jeep fender for a friend from a wrecker in St George with my wife waiting in the 4R with AC on. Vegas was just idling in stopped traffic. Otherwise never even close to overheating the rest of its 343K miles.

I wouln´t call that alarming but I would check a couple of things. How many miles on the truck? and when was the last time since you changed thermostat and coolant. Check the clutch fan also.
On the other hand a long drive followed by stop and go traffic in D would heat up the transmission and would pass that heat to the cooling system. Still I would check the cooling system.

 

[02SE]

We saw it get close to the H on the dash while idling with AC on in St. George and Las Vegas with ambient temps over 100 F. Had to shut it down. I was picking up a jeep fender for a friend from a wrecker in St George with my wife waiting in the 4R with AC on. Vegas was just idling in stopped traffic. Otherwise never even close to overheating the rest of its 343K miles.

That indicates to me that something wasn't operating correctly. It could be as simple as the radiator plugged with debris, or the space between the AC condensor and radiator can get filled with debris.

The radiator, radiator cap, thermostat, and fan clutch should also be checked. If the fan clutch that locked up and caused damage awhile back was in place at the time of the overheat, that was a sign it wasn't working correctly.

Bottom line: What you described is not normal operation for the 4Runner cooling system which is operating as designed.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

I wouln´t call that alarming but I would check a couple of things. How many miles on the truck? and when was the last time since you changed thermostat and coolant. Check the clutch fan also.
On the other hand a long drive followed by stop and go traffic in D would heat up the transmission and would pass that heat to the cooling system. Still I would check the cooling system.

Currently 343K miles. Subsequent to these events at idle, the fan clutch seized and the fan disintegrated puncturing the radiator, cutting an oil cooler line and putting 3 pop out dents in the hood. Everything fixed and have a replacment hood that I will be painting to match.

 

[mrblah]

transmission cooler is keeping my tranny temps below 200, and keeps it on average 160 degrees with 34's and lots of armor. Cooler also keeps the transmission temps from spiking, and instead more gradual increases and decreases in tranny temp changes. Tranny temps rarely go above 200 even on the hottest of days and long inclines. Cost and installation is very reasonable.

re-gearing keeps my transmission from acting bipolar between 4th and 5th gear on inclines, which keeps torque converter locked and tranny temps down. Cost and installation of gears is not reasonable....

Coolant temps averaged around 188-190 with a lo-pro bumper and now around 190- 193 w/ a full front bumper. Not much I can do about this, but it is within normal operating temps.

YMMV.

 

[fkheath]

4Runner will run hotter, close to overheat, when idling in 100 F desert heat.

Not me. A year ago I did an extensive trip through southern Utah and northern AZ (Page, AZ and Grand Staircase Escalate National Monument). 112 degrees, A/C on, and temp gauge never got over mid range.

 

[1000MPH]

Road trip yesterday. Approx 75mph highway speeds and 106° temps. Highest I’ve seen since I’ve owned my ScanGauage going over a 4th gear pass…
198° coolant temp
221° Torque Converter
201° trans pan temp

 

[jp.vegas]

We saw it get close to the H on the dash while idling with AC on in St. George and Las Vegas with ambient temps over 100 F. Had to shut it down. I was picking up a jeep fender for a friend from a wrecker in St George with my wife waiting in the 4R with AC on. Vegas was just idling in stopped traffic. Otherwise never even close to overheating the rest of its 343K miles.

Never, in almost 20 years of wheeling a 4th gen and now a 5th gen 4Runner in Las Vegas (I live here), Death Valley, the Arizona Strip, the Mojave Preserve etc. have I ever seen the gauge do anything close to that. I have dogs and I always let it idle in 100+ temps with the AC running. Never gets warm. These things are insanely spec'd out for serious desert use.

I see later on you had a catastrophic failure of a cooling system component and that's why your truck ran hot. Guarantee it.

 

[AMLOR]

Never, in almost 20 years of wheeling a 4th gen and now a 5th gen 4Runner in Las Vegas (I live here), Death Valley, the Arizona Strip, the Mojave Preserve etc. have I ever seen the gauge do anything close to that. I have dogs and I always let it idle in 100+ temps with the AC running. Never gets warm. These things are insanely spec'd out for serious desert use.

I see later on you had a catastrophic failure of a cooling system component and that's why your truck ran hot. Guarantee it.

I have to agree...never seen anything that hot on mine, even while towing.
Water Temp: 188-190
Trans Converter: 172 solo; 190 locked in 4th towing, depending on grade..
Intake Air temp: 113