Hello everyone,

I have a Mazda 6 GG from 2005, with 2.0i gasoline engine. It has 285k km (177k miles). Lately, I’ve noticed that there are times when my cooling fans are staying on for a long time, something like 5 minutes. This is strange since there are like 10 degrees C (50F) outside, and during the summer when there were like 40C (104F), it was never staying on for more than 30 seconds.

The temp gauge does not move above the middle, so I put the OBD reader to see what is happening. It seems that normally, the car stays at 90-95C (194-203F). But there are times when it goes to 101-104C (214-220F). This is either happing while idle or if I’m driving with low rpm (under 3k). And this is also usually the moments when the fans kick in and they stay on for a very long time when standing still.

I’ve noticed that if I am driving with a higher rpm (more than 3k) or if I am just acelerating while standing still, there are times when the temp goes very quickily from 101-104C back to 90-95C. Turning on the heating also helps.

Can the thermostat not open sometimes fully and when I have a higher rpm, the water pump is just pushing more coolant? Or can it be the water pump?

Also, since the temp never goes more than 104C (203F), which is not even enough for the temp gauge to move from the middle (I saw that it stays in the middle if the temp is anywhere between 80C and 104C), is it safe to drive like this until I fix the problem?

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