Mechanic said my car overheating is normal

[Cyborg Ninja]

Hi everyone, this is my first time here. I have a 1998 Civic Ex that overheats with the arrow at 3/4 of the way (at least) while idle, and dips down back to normal while moving. The arrow on the gauge will start to rise after 30 minutes of driving or so. When it gets to 3/4, I stop the car. This only started happening after I came home from the hospital a few months ago. It wasn't being used much due to me being in the hospital off and on for a year.

So this is a worrisome change to me. I took it to a local auto shop today, saying I thought maybe a fuse needed replacing, as the cooling fan was replaced about a year ago, there's plenty of coolant (no leaks), and two separate people said my fan didn't seem to be coming on. The mechanic called an hour later and said the car seems fine, that the fan does kick on 3/4 of the way at about 200 degrees, and that was normal. He charged me $45 for this, and originally said $90 (which enraged me).

I don't think this is normal at all, and I want to know what else may be wrong with the car. Any ideas? My dad said he's going to check the fuses and see if the fan will turn on. Oh and the radiator was replaced five years ago.

 

[xxBLOOD88SHOTxx]

If the fan is coming on at 200 degree, the thermostat is opening, and you have no air in your cooling system, I would suspect the gauge or the coolant temp sensor.

 

[mc360]

does your coolant overflow bottle fill up? my car would go up to 3/4 on the heat gauge at idle after a long enough drive but instantly would drop to 1/3 as soon as i started moving, turned out to be my head gasket leaking compression into the cooling system

 

[GBK_2slow]

I recommend using a paper clip, turn it into a U-shape, take off the thermostat housing sensor that triggers the fan, Place the paper clip in the plug and it will turn on as soon as u turn the ignition on. Keeps ur car cool!

 

[XpL0d3r]

The gauge really shouldn't ever go slightly past half. Try bleeding the coolant, you may have air in the lines.

 

[ChiefKief7]

Had the same problem after about 15 mins of driving. I replaced the thermostat and it fixed the problem for about a week, as soon as it started again i took it back in and i needed to replace a head gasket which was about $1400. Take it back in and have them check the head gaskets, cause if thats left long enough your engine is toast.