Good 'ol Temperature Gauge : Yes or No?

GTO · 17th June 2009, 15:45

Many new generation cars have entirely done away with the temperature gauge. Somehow, I'm not comfortable with this line of thought.

Which modern car overheats, right? Well, my Honda City Vtec - a hallmark of old school Japanese reliability - did so recently. A rat chewed the electronic fan's wiring. If it weren't for the temperature gauge (and thus, my switching the car off immediately), I'd have ended up with a roasted engine. Of course, in old school Jeeps, keeping an eye on the temp gauge is as important as pressing the accelerator pedal

, that's besides the point.

My point is this : Overheating is an engine's cancer. Driving on an overheating engine will, in all certainty, kill the engine entirely. If we have a gauge / warning for oil pressure in all cars (old and new), why are manufacturers doing away with something that's equally as crucial?

The cooling system is built of mechanical & electronic components which will definitely fail at some point in time. While mechanical parts have a standard life (generally), electronics can fail anytime....in a day or a decade. And then, we can have component failure from the most unexpected of areas (e.g. the rodent!).

Your comments?

YES?

Good 'ol Temperature Gauge : Yes or No?-instrument-cluster-2.jpg

NO?

Good 'ol Temperature Gauge : Yes or No?-dsc01561.jpg

bblost · 17th June 2009, 15:55

I am not sure but maybe the CEL does this now.

And If the driver does not heed that warning then the car is automatically pushed into the limp mode.

WhiteKnight · 17th June 2009, 15:55

Yes

One- It doesn't cost a bomb and it is not rocket science

Two- If you ever have an over-heating problem, the gauge helps you to drag your car to a safer place. Looking at the gauge, you would be able to predict how much you could drive before things heat up

Three- As you said, if the light is gone and you have an over-heating, the damage done is humengous.

deadguy25 · 17th June 2009, 16:05

It is necessary!

Any idea what they trying to prove by doing away with this?

Why cant the manufacturers ask the users if it helps before they do away with such things??

nishantgandhi · 17th June 2009, 16:16

Along the same line of thought, isnt a Tachometer also more or less a necessity? Along with the temp, dont we also need to monitor engine revvs?

suman · 17th June 2009, 16:21

Definitely a vehement "Yes"!!

bharanidharang · 17th June 2009, 16:27

one of the parameters i normally keep checking is the temp gauge. its like the heartbeat of an engine when it is running.

so a BIG YES

Eddy · 17th June 2009, 16:29

One of the easier polls to answer: Yes

Raajiv · 17th June 2009, 16:36

ACI in the last month edition placed this as one of the accessory that can be eliminated from a modern car.Horrendous,i would say !!!!

finneyp · 17th June 2009, 16:41

Yes, it is a necessity!

It is bad that some car makers are cutting corners by eliminating temp gauge!
The buyers should reject cars w/o temp gauge.

planet_rocker · 17th June 2009, 16:42

the Padmini has one - very important since she has HVAC
the Palio has one - very important since she has a mind of her own.
the M800 had one.

The Getz 1.1 doesn't have one - :( - but there are two temperature lights (blue & red) - haven't driven the getz much.

ashthedivx · 17th June 2009, 16:46

Nothing to think about.. Definitely YES ..

muralisk · 17th June 2009, 17:01

Yes.
By taking off the gauge, we are putting too much emphasize on the on board computer to function and display the indicator in line with the real time data from the engine.

Also, I am not sure why is this taken off when the fuel gauge is still provided in the car. Even here, we do depend on the low fuel indicator, which is kind of accurate even when the fuel gauge is not working properly. Am sure many Matiz owners would agree with this.

star_aqua · 17th June 2009, 17:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Many new generation cars have entirely done away with the temperature gauge. Somehow, I'm not comfortable with this line of thought.

My point is this : Overheating is an engine's cancer. Driving on an overheating engine will, in all certainty, kill the engine entirely. If we have a gauge / warning for oil pressure in all cars (old and new), why are manufacturers doing away with something that's equally as crucial?

GTO, are you sure that this modern car which you have posted doesn't have temp guage / warning lamp for overheating? In the second pic i can see a warning lamp for overheating. check out it is the lamp at the end exactly at marking 200kmph.
And most of the modern cars have temperature data transmitted digitally over CAN. hence the modern cars usually use digital display. I can see a display in the speedo panel. are you sure it didn't display temperature??

nowadays most of the cars uses digital display and since all the display cannot accomodate all the info at the same time, the driver can customise the display setting with the info he needs and can scroll the pages with a toggle switch.

Attachment 148979

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 17th June 2009, 17:22

Like a sig around here, life is analog. Digital is a mere approximation.

For digital signals, (like lights) problems are either present, or absent. For meters, even a slight difference (without going into the danger zone) does give an experienced eye some advanced warning.

On my car, I really miss the oil guage I had on our old (err.. ancient) diesel trucks.

View Poll Results: Is the temperature gauge a necessity?
Yes	452	93.00%
No	34	7.00%
Voters: 486. You may not vote on this poll

17th June 2009, 15:45	#1
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 71,944 Thanked: 322,290 Times View My Garage	Good 'ol Temperature Gauge : Yes or No? Many new generation cars have entirely done away with the temperature gauge. Somehow, I'm not comfortable with this line of thought. Which modern car overheats, right? Well, my Honda City Vtec - a hallmark of old school Japanese reliability - did so recently. A rat chewed the electronic fan's wiring. If it weren't for the temperature gauge (and thus, my switching the car off immediately), I'd have ended up with a roasted engine. Of course, in old school Jeeps, keeping an eye on the temp gauge is as important as pressing the accelerator pedal , that's besides the point. My point is this : Overheating is an engine's cancer. Driving on an overheating engine will, in all certainty, kill the engine entirely. If we have a gauge / warning for oil pressure in all cars (old and new), why are manufacturers doing away with something that's equally as crucial? The cooling system is built of mechanical & electronic components which will definitely fail at some point in time. While mechanical parts have a standard life (generally), electronics can fail anytime....in a day or a decade. And then, we can have component failure from the most unexpected of areas (e.g. the rodent!). Your comments? YES? NO?
	(5) Thanks

17th June 2009, 15:55	#2
bblost Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 11,300 Thanked: 18,003 Times View My Garage	I am not sure but maybe the CEL does this now. And If the driver does not heed that warning then the car is automatically pushed into the limp mode.
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 15:55	#3
WhiteKnight Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,006 Thanked: 702 Times View My Garage	Yes Yes One- It doesn't cost a bomb and it is not rocket science Two- If you ever have an over-heating problem, the gauge helps you to drag your car to a safer place. Looking at the gauge, you would be able to predict how much you could drive before things heat up Three- As you said, if the light is gone and you have an over-heating, the damage done is humengous.
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:05	#4
deadguy25 BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 432 Thanked: 283 Times	Yes It is necessary! Any idea what they trying to prove by doing away with this? Why cant the manufacturers ask the users if it helps before they do away with such things??
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:16	#5
nishantgandhi Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,223 Thanked: 156 Times	Along the same line of thought, isnt a Tachometer also more or less a necessity? Along with the temp, dont we also need to monitor engine revvs?
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:21	#6
suman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 4,586 Thanked: 281 Times View My Garage	Definitely a vehement "Yes"!!
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:27	#7
bharanidharang BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Chennai Posts: 410 Thanked: 262 Times	one of the parameters i normally keep checking is the temp gauge. its like the heartbeat of an engine when it is running. so a BIG YES
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:29	#8
Eddy Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 9,571 Thanked: 14,541 Times	One of the easier polls to answer: Yes
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:36	#9
Raajiv BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Monterey Bay,CA Posts: 263 Thanked: 5 Times	ACI in the last month edition placed this as one of the accessory that can be eliminated from a modern car.Horrendous,i would say !!!! Last edited by Raajiv : 17th June 2009 at 16:54. Reason: Sentence Correction
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:41	#10
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,762 Thanked: 400 Times View My Garage	Yes, it is a necessity! It is bad that some car makers are cutting corners by eliminating temp gauge! The buyers should reject cars w/o temp gauge.
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:42	#11
planet_rocker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bong-land Posts: 2,323 Thanked: 426 Times	the Padmini has one - very important since she has HVAC the Palio has one - very important since she has a mind of her own. the M800 had one. The Getz 1.1 doesn't have one - :( - but there are two temperature lights (blue & red) - haven't driven the getz much.
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 16:46	#12
ashthedivx Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 1,359 Thanked: 24 Times	Nothing to think about.. Definitely YES ..
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 17:01	#13
muralisk BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hyderabad, Bangalore Posts: 711 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	Yes. By taking off the gauge, we are putting too much emphasize on the on board computer to function and display the indicator in line with the real time data from the engine. Also, I am not sure why is this taken off when the fuel gauge is still provided in the car. Even here, we do depend on the low fuel indicator, which is kind of accurate even when the fuel gauge is not working properly. Am sure many Matiz owners would agree with this.
	() Thanks

17th June 2009, 17:22	#15
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 2,540 Thanked: 758 Times	Like a sig around here, life is analog. Digital is a mere approximation. For digital signals, (like lights) problems are either present, or absent. For meters, even a slight difference (without going into the danger zone) does give an experienced eye some advanced warning. On my car, I really miss the oil guage I had on our old (err.. ancient) diesel trucks.
	() Thanks