Thermostat went to the red zone

Asked by Ryan112233 Jan 02, 2017 at 02:33 PM about the 2002 Subaru Outback Limited Wagon

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I was driving over the mountain passes and noticed
the thermostat in the red zone.  I pulled over and
added water to the radiator. I stated it to drive, but
needle went back to the red zone and the car
started steaming under the hood.  The car has 90k
miles in it.  What do you think might be the
prognosis?  This was the first time.

1 Answer
795

VolvoSubieTech answered 7 years ago

There are several things that could be going on honestly. Stuck thermostat is possible, headgasket failure is also possible. Those motors have a hard time coming back from overheating; they tend to warp either the cylinder heads or the cylinder block and can get expensive to repair. I definitely would have it towed to the nearest place that specializes in Subarus or the nearest Subaru dealer, they should be able to diagnose it fairly quickly and easily.

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