PLEASE HELP CAR KEEPS OVERHEATING

[akashj]

Hey infiniti owners . . . . im in a bit of a bind with my 2006 m35x yesterday it statrted overheating almost to H symbol. i saw there was no coolant in the side coolant container. i added anit freeze coolant and took it for a small drive to see if i fixed the problem but it still overheated. would it help if i remove the screwes and put collant directly into the radiator? or any other suggestions why it would overheat . . . . . please help i have work and cannot drive because i fear i might damage it further.

[jbillion]

If you are still under warranty, call roadside assistance and have it towed to the nearest dealership. Do not drive it while it is overheating.

[EcstaSPT]

There's a recall for a faulty fan module, sounds like yours is toast. Infiniti should pick up the towing tab as well. Call them asap.There should be a large radiator cap you can take off to check the fluid level, but don't do it hot.

[akashj]

ok good info ill mention the fan to the service guy because i just got it serviced like 3 weeks ago . . . . .i turn the car on and while idle the needle stays steady still but when i push the gas it goes up. and while idle stays wherever it ends up never going down. any other suggestions?

[EcstaSPT]

Link Removed By Moderator, please do not post links to competing forum.

Stick your hand in front of the fan, you probably won't be able to feel any air. Turning the heater on full blast may help a tiny bit but otherwise it just takes time to cool off. Do you not have an Infiniti dealer close to you?

[M45Runner]

Check your fluid level again. If there was nothing in the reservoir, it means there is air in the system and you might still have air in the cooling system, which will not cool the engine effectively - It might not be a big deal in winter times, but it is in summer.

If the reservoir is empty now, add more fluid and run the car - the fluid level will drop again. Keep adding until it is not getting lower.

If the reservoir is not empty - which I highly doubt. There are 2 possibilities: 1. Faulty fan control unit - tow it, yes, tow it to the dealer ASAP to have it fixed.2. fault thermostat switch - stuck closed. Need to have it replaced.

[paulypotz]

when coolant is empty and you refill the tank it usually leave an air bubble in the radiator hose...try to unscrew the radiator cap then screw it back on...no need to remove it just turn it once open then once to close

[SteveTheTech]

when coolant is empty and you refill the tank it usually leave an air bubble in the radiator hose...try to unscrew the radiator cap then screw it back on...no need to remove it just turn it once open then once to close

Please make sure that you do this only when the engine has been off for at least half an hour. I can tell you from experience there is nothing quite like an ethylene glycol burn, it sticks to your skin and makes what would be a minor 1st maybe light 2nd degree a fair amount worse.

For a quick check if the fan is operating I usually start the car and once it is warmed and the idle has balanced but before it is fully warmed turn the auto ac on. The fan should start at a slow rate and increase when heat load is increased. If that works turn the AC off and wait for the engine to reach operating temperature (~203 is when the fan kicks on). After a short drive and you stop and idle the car you should normally hear the fans turning at a few hundred rpms.

You can also open the hood (engine completely off) and look under the rectangular air inlet box and towards the radiation and visually inspect the connectors, there are three and any one of them being loose or open will cause the fans to not work.

Id you smell coolant it is probably a wise idea to take it to the dealer ASAP.

EcstaSPT- sorry about the edit. If you have found something on that website it is most likely already here somewhere.

[EcstaSPT]

No problem...is there a recall and TSB list here?

And if the coolant level is low, it shouldn't be, and either someone removed coolant for whatever reason or there's a leak somewhere.

[SteveTheTech]

I think there is a sticky with the recall list. If not I will add one when I get back to work. We are always open to suggestions.

In any case, if there is any outstanding recalls the dealer can easily tell you if it pertains to your car. It is possible for service writers to look up any outstanding recalls.If you have had your M at the dealer in the last year and a half than this was more than likely taken care of. As an M owner I would go take a quick look at my service records to see if there is a module billed on the repair order along with something like .6hrs of labor.

The fan control recall is the one of only two recalls I can think of for the M, the other was a very limited ICC reprogram on early models.

People tend to overlook the coolant bottle on the M they are under plastic and often forgotten. I would bet you a beer that at 1/3 of the M owners here have a coolant reservoir that is below the MAX line. I don't know where it goes but it disappears.

[SteveTheTech]

You know what after looking through the stickies and realized there is a reason the info isn't listed. In the recent past there has been a shift in terminology, they have dropped the ugly word recall for more favorable terms like voluntary service campaigns. In either case I will add them no matter what they are called.

[MZH]

I received a letter from Infiniti regarding the replacement of fan control module. According to the letter the fan controller on 2006/2007 sometimes fail and Infiniti is aware of the issue and instructions were to take the care to dealer and they will replace it for free. That I did. You might need to check that as well.

[John2]

I can offer one related tip (fwiw) ... if you find yourself driving and stuck in traffic with the car overheating, turn the heater on full blast to draw some heat out of the system while you get safely off the road somewhere you can stop. It's darned uncomfortable, 'cause your overheating car is probably overheating on a hot day. I had to do this on my previous car (an Acura RL) and it brought the temp down enough to get it out of the red zone and avoid damage to the engine.

[maxnix]

Members have to understand that the collant indicator is highly damped, and if you are fortunate and notice it increasing, put the heater on full, kill all accessories, and coast to a stop ASAP.

On trip to the red zone is enough to warp a head, and that ain't inexpensive to repair.

About links to other websites, it is stupid to cenosor them. All the other sites combined don't have the technical information in the dirt under my finger nail. NICO is the only website for hose who care and want to learn about their cars. The other sites are full of owners wanting to drop their cars 4" and run doubledubs. No threat for NICO except for losing a few idiots whose posts just clog the search engines here. Better to be rid of them, because theya are not buying the services or items our wise sponsors are selling anyway.

[EcstaSPT]

The link I was posted was to the fan module recall on another site that has a nice database of recalls, tsbs, etc.