“Engine Hot A/C Off” dash light, engine not hot

2008 PONTIAC TORRENT
155,000 MILES • 3.4L • 6 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
Avatar
ASHTINS89
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Yesterday I drove my car about 10 minutes in 30 degree rainy weather, parked the car for about an hour, then proceeded to drive home. About 7 minutes into the drive the dash read “Engine Hot A/C Off”. I had the heater on at that point. I looked at the temperature gauge and it was all the way down on the cold side. I turned off the heater and continued about 4 more minutes and the warning went off on the dash and the temp gauge went up to about half way. I didn’t feel or hear any engine problems. The car hood was not even warm at all when I arrived home about a minute later. I checked the coolant this morning after it sat all night and it was just a tad under the cold fill line. I saw no obvious leaks, and nothing on my garage floor. There was some minor water condensation on the inside of the oil cap. Any ideas?
Dec 1, 2019 at 10:12 PM
Advertisement
Avatar
JONNYB1963
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 263 POSTS
Good morning,

This seems to be a common issue. Please see this thread for someone who had the same problem. Ken had some good advice for the owner of that vehicle.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/2008-pontiac-torrent-engine-hotacoff

Regards
Dec 2, 2019 at 7:44 AM
Avatar
ASHTINS89
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Thank you. Should I be at all worried about the water on the inside of the oil cap? I didn’t see any white buildup like I read can be a blown head gasket. And of the two ideas ken mentions, which should I try first? I forgot to say in my first post the check engine light itself never came on, just the dashboard warning about the AC.
Dec 2, 2019 at 8:23 AM
Advertisement
Avatar
JONNYB1963
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 263 POSTS
If you do not have whitish-grey frothy oil then I doubt there is water in there. The moisture you see on the cap could just be condensation which is no biggie at all. In that case I would lean more toward the temperature sensor.

Jon
Dec 2, 2019 at 10:21 AM