SoCalCyclist

Hello everyone. I bought a used 2007 RDX with low miles and in great condition. Everything works well for the most part, but I noticed the dash cluster does not have a gauge coolant temperature. I looked through the owners manual and found that the coolant temperature should be accessible by cycling through the odometer push menu. But I can only cycle through trip A, trip B, and the oil life monitor.

Anyone have any idea as to how I can view the coolant temperature? Thanks.

Chopperpilot

The right side of steering wheel, top button (not the cruise) ..one push and you’ll have the display.

SoCalCyclist

Thanks! I’ll give that a try.

Tomtwtwtw

The select button will cycle through your trip odometers if that is currently selected. The up and down buttons that surround it will cycle through the other display options (coolant, tire pressure, range, etc). The coolant doesn't show temp though - just a dummy gauge that will stay at the same position regardless of temp unless you are above or below the normal operating range. It does not increase or decrease in direct relation to temp changes.

SoCalCyclist

That’s good to know! Do you happen to know the normal operating temperature for this car? I’m taking the car on a roadtrip with some very steep and long hills. I have an OBD2 sensor to track the coolant temp and want to keep an eye on it as it goes up the hills.

Tomtwtwtw

A while back I used an OBD2 reader and captured (as safely as I could) the temp ranges leading up to 7 bars, and I want to say 1 or 2 bars above...let me see if I can dig it up.

Tomtwtwtw

Ok, so I didn't end up capturing anything above 7 bars, though I have seen mine get to 9 bars on a long climb. Don't worry if yours does. But here is what I observed at the time:

1 bar: < 138.2
2 bars: 138.2
3 bars: 147.2
4 bars 154.5
5 bars 159.8
6 bars 163.4
7 bars 167 - 203+

So, anything below 138F will be 1 bar on the meter. It will rise quickly to 7 bars by the time you get to 167F, and stay there until at least 203F (and it you observe the actual temp on a scanner you'll see it moves around a *lot* within that range under normal driving). I want to say every bar after 7 is about 9 degrees, so at 9 bars you're probably knocking on the door of 220F.

I've noticed that on longer climbs that don't necessarily require downshifting, the car might still run cooler if you drop a gear anyway. Doing so increases the coolant circulation and can also generate less relative heat since you are reducing the boost from the turbo. Either way, don't get too concerned - I've driven through all manner of hills in this car and never come close to overheating - including driving from Phoenix to Payson in the middle of summer with the a/c blasting.

SoCalCyclist

Super helpful information! Thank you! I’m going to Yosemite National Park and need to go up a steep stretch of highway called the Grapevine on the way back. I’ll keep an eye on the coolant on my road trip. Thanks again for the info!