My trusty old Honda City (approx. 14 years old/190,000 km) has recently started to show overheating issues after sustained use. It first showed the problem coming up the hill in Wang Nam Kiaow (so quite a lot of stress), However, after waiting around 20-30 minutes for the engine to cool down, I drove the car for another 350 km (not continuously) without any issues. The car was then driven on an extended trip again and the warning light came on after around 150 km. I wasn't driving at the time but based on what my partner told me, the engine wasn't under any particular stress at the time.
From what I understand there are a few possibilities:
1: Insufficient coolant.
I don't believe this is the case because the levels in the expansion tank are midway between the max and min marks.
2: Water pump:
If this was the issue, the problem would show up more often?
3: Radiator:
Don't really know how to check this other than there is no obvious coolant leak. Could it just be old and clogged?
4: Fan/sensor to turn the fan on
How often should the fan run? I don't know how to check this. Should it come on after the car has been sitting idling for a while?
5: Any more?
One possibly important issue is the coolant was changed recently—just before the big trip where the issue manifested itself. Could this be related? I can't easily tell because the car is only ever normally used for fairly short trips.
Any thoughts appreciated...
Thanks,
Jaimaai