My engine light came on and I took my 2016 Jeep Cherokee latitude in and it is still under 36000. This was just after a hard freeze and I purchased and had the vehicle less then a week. They kept it 2 weeks and then the repaired it saying it was just a simple mechanical malfunction of the thermostat housing. What would cause such a malfunction?
My car has 32000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
Marvin Sunderland
22 years of experience
Hi there. If the thermostat housing was made of plastic (carbon fiber) and the temperature outside dropped below the freezing point of the cooling system, then the coolant would have froze up and expanded causing the thermostat housing to crack. Also, if the coolant has too much electrolyte causing a slight voltage in the coolant, then the chemical compound will break down causing the cooling system to eat up seals and carbon fiber.
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The thermostat gasket is most likely what is causing the leak. The gaskets overtime become hard and lose the ability to seal the coolant passing by the thermostat. The replacement of the thermostat and gasket is the most prevalent fix. It could also be a crack in the plastic structure of the thermostat housing which is causing the leak. A common problem is the congealing of the coolant into a thick sludge-like material. This sludge can get inside the thermostat and cause the flow to be restricted or even cut-off altogether. The sludge also prevents the thermostat from taking accurate readings, causing delay in opening or closing, which leads to over-cooling or overheating.
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