Hello, the light for the cooling system start lightening, I took the car to the garage, they changed the thermostat and assured me that all will be good. I never noticed before, but when I get back from the garage I opened the bonnet and the cistern antifreeze was very hot, as well as few black pipes. I am wondering- is this normal, should I just drive ot get back to the garage? Thanks

Take it back - if you are not happy take it elsewhere :)

Ok, but is it normal for the cistern antifriz to be hot? I dont want them to laugh at me...

It can get hot - and should do - but not excessively ( boiling ).

Well, it was hot, not boiling really...but hot, after 5 miles drive.

The purpose of the antifreeze is to cool the engine, and does get hot. The pipes being hot does mean that water is circulating, which is good. Is the temperature needle steady?

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GNU STP

As long as your engine temperature sits at about 2/3 and the needle doesn't push into the red you are fine.

The needle was always in the middle, I stopped when the light for the cooler came on and did not allow the needle to go up at all. They repair it ( I am in Italy, in a garage here: https://www.facebook.com/autocarrozzeriamodernamestre?sk=reviews ) and told me that all will be fine now. But I am afraid to believe, as I am stuck with my 2 adult children in a hotel near Venice ( which we did not see anyway!) and next I go to Croatia, where my break down cover is not valid.

Please take a photo of the '' cooler '' light & upload so we can see what you mean. :)

Check engine warning light ( sorry, was not clear before about the light).

Is the Check Engine Light still on? I can understand your concerns.

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GNU STP

Hi Goodkat, , I stopped when I saw that the light was on and afterwards the car was 3 days in a garage. After the repair I did not know should the antifreeze container be so hot after driving even few miles, so I went back to the garage to make a fool of myself and ask (just as I did here). The engineer assured me, that this is normal and that's the way the car motor is getting cool, that's the purpose for the antifreeze to be there. We drove over 450 miles yesterday, so far -so good, all seems OK. I am just not that well educated about car engines and after this situation seems that I am extra sensitive about engine cooling. Thank you very much for answering my question so promptly and timely.I was really nervous when I found this forum, very nice of you all. <3

The coolant will get very hot (and if you suddenly open the coolant cap it may suddenly boil).

No problem Anika, I think everyone gets nervous after a repair is done, you aren't the only one! And the only way to learn is to ask, so don't worry about it.

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GNU STP

engine coolant will be around 95c so very hot to touch, and will get to 105c when in traffic, staionary, thats when the coolant fan will operate to bring temp down to around 95c again.

never open the coolant cap when hot, it will boil when not under pressure.

I didn't think the thermostat was connected to the ECU?

Did you have overheating before, or just the EML?

(Did the temp gauge go all the way up at any time?)

thermostat staying shut will make cyl head temp increase to a point when ecu deems it to hot and puts engine light on

Fair point.

My old Punto just used to get hot and blow a gasket. (At least 3 that I know of - yet it's still running!! lol)