I bought this '00 D Saturday, and during the test drive the Check Gauges light came on. I mentioned it to the sales guy, and he said it was probably due to the low fuel (which light was also on). Then driving home, it came on again, and I noticed the Temp gauge was topping out. I looked at the Owners Manual, and it said something like putting the transmission in Neutral, and increasing speed; which didn't seem to do anything. Then while driving in town (stop and go) it came on several times. I took back to the dealer yesterday to install a new radio, and I told them about the Check Gauges light and the temp gauge topping out. I talked to them a bit ago, and they said there's nothing wrong with the gauge and it's working fine.

I'm not very auto tech savvy, butI mentioned to them yesterday that maybe the T-stat was bad, but that's all. I've been reading the threads on this issue. They said that the gauges were fine when they drove it to the car audio place, which is much further than from the dealer to my house. I can't imagine the light didn't come on while they drove it that far and it did driving from the dealer to my house and from my house to the dealer.

So I'm going to ask if they checked the T-stat and the clutch fan. Is there anything else I should ask if they checked?

 

Jamez,

If the check engine light come on as well as all the other issues you are now experiencing, I would return that D back to the dealer and get your money back. No dealer should say there is nothing wrong especially if your check engine light comes on. If you keep this D, I think you are going to uncover more issues than you bargain for.

 

Definitely look into the t-stat first. there is a good chance it is what's wrong. Mine would only open partway which would allow it to cool as long as I stayed moving but as soon as I hit traffic, up the temp went. The way they are treating this though I would just do as Kensai said and return it to the scum, if they won't address this issue they don't deserve your money. Go somewhere that is willing to earn it.

 

I agree with Kensi... Return it NOW while you still can. The dealer is lieing to you, and who knows what else they are lieing about.

If you do keep it, the just try replacing the T-Stat, its like a $5 part, so might as well try it. Does the fan stay on when you trun the D off? if not check the Tempature swtich, the other thing to check would be the fan clutch. Do not go back to this dealer though, if you can not do these minor repairs your self, find a new repair shop that yo can trust.

And I would never shop at that dealer again... IMO.

As do NOT drive with the temp gauge max out any more then you have to, that can be very bad for your D.

 

Thanks for all the good advice!
I talked to the dealer yesterday, and the car audio store they went to is just down the street from them. I didn't realize this until I noticed it driving out there. So it ispossible the gauges light didn't come on, and the temp gauge didn't max out. I don't know what the shop checked, but I drove it around a bit with a sales guy yesterday and when we hit traffic it did it. So they said they will take it to the shop again today and tell them the symptoms and have them find the problem and fix it. So it looks like they do want to make things right.
One piece of good news is they did replace the blown speakers with Kenwood speakers.

I'll keep ya'll posted. Thanks again!

 

Well, I just talked to the dealer and their shop determined the "freeze plugs" were bad. I have no idea what the freeze plugs are or what they do, but they said they are t-stat related.

 

well my truck did that when it was low on coolant, i just added more coolant and it stopped doing it, just another simple thing to try

 

Freeze plugs are in place to plug the holes that are in the block. It has nothing to do with the t-stat other than they are both parts thatof the cooling system, Make them replace all of them while they are doing it as long as it is still under their warranty. When one goes bad you can bet the rest are ready to go as well. The problem is that 1 or 2 of them cannot be gotten to without pulling the trnasmission so it can get pricey in the future. I would also make them replace the t-stat on sheer principle. It is cheap and easy to do. It shouldn't take them more than an hour.