Car "locks up"; temp indicator; steering wheel.

Asked by Edgar Aug 15, 2015 at 03:16 AM about the 2005 Chevrolet Impala

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2005 Chevy Impala whose temperature goes above the half-way mark when
it's parked or it's in idle, but that starts going down (but never back to the half-way
mark) when the car is in motion. If the car is in idle or or if it's stopped long enough,
it'll pass the the max temp line and start trembling and sort of lock up and it takes
about 30 seconds of driving for it to "unlock" and start driving smoothly again.
Yesterday was I stopped to make a turn, the steering wheel locked up really bad and I
had a very difficult time turning. A loud, screeching sound emanates from the engine.
The car doesn't have to be in idle or stopped for the temperature to rise rapidly and
pass the max temp mark. As soon as that loud screeching sound started, the car
doesn't "unlock" while driving. As soon as that max temp mark is passed, the car
locks up and stayed locked up no matter how long I'm driving (by locked up I mean
that the car is trembling and it takes longer for it to pick up speed). Any ideas?

1 Answer

190,095

I have a feeling your car is overheating, could be the folliwing the water pump, the thermostat or the fan motor(s) are not turning on when the car reaches temo, I have a feeling its the fan motor because as you drive the car the temperature cone down which means air is passing through the raditor allowing the coolent to cool. In your driveway start the car and bring in up to temp which should be about 180 degrees and about 220 or so the fans should kick in.

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