Just picked up a 2000 Sportage 4x4. On the drive home the sportage wouldn't come above C on the temp gauge. It was -10f on the drive home from where I picked it up. Today the temp is 1f and the same thing. I blocked off the radiator with a piece of cardboard and It does come up to temp. (around the middle of H and C on the dash. New Thermostat and the radiator is new as well. Any ideas?

Could be a faulty temp sending unit. Does the radiator or thermostat housing feel warm enough to indicate the gauge reading is off? Aside from that, I would think it could be the thermostat stuck open. A new thermostat can be defective. Those are some low temps... Maybe the coolant?!? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Coolant checks out to -40f, The coolant hoses are both fairly the same temp to the touch, The top radiator hose near the thermostat may be a tiny bit warmer. Im going to remove the thermostat and boil it to see if it opens or not. and check my timing belt while im there.

My 00 started not going up to temp about 2 years ago....it used to start delivering heat inside after 1 minute drive and now it just does not get hot enough to allow 4th gear (A/T) .....and yes, I use an obstruction to block air to the radiator and temps goes up, and then I have heat inside. Yes, I know I should simply change the thermostat but , well, I satisfied with the present solution. No problem in summer.

I had a '98 Ford Ranger (4 cyl) that had the thermostat stuck open. It was fine in the warm weather, but would take at least 10 minutes to warm up in cold weather - that being in the 30s F at night where I live (Burr!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />). I imagine it would have acted similar to your Sporties had it been operated in single-digit or lower temps. That said, I was just too lazy to fix it because I would eventually get enough heat in the cab to forget about buying the part... until I started it the next morning. It was like groundhog's day all winter long!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

i'm letting my friend borrow my miata right now while we are working on his. everything works properly on mine, but it's built for the track so the cooling system is super-efficient.. it gets up about a 1/4 if that on the gauge during his commute. hehee. he hates it.

..was rather like -10?F (-24?C) this morning....burrrr.burrrr..

Yeah, I'm sorry my thermometer stops at 32, It got down to 36 the other day... I like s. California... :-P

All is well now, The cheapy thermostat I bought was junk, bought a higher quality one and installed it. Works great now and I have heat <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

I had a similar experience when I got my car, it had no t-stat and wouldn't go past quarter warm even in warm weather. I used a $6 t-stat, it lasted a month, put in a Kia part, and 50,000 miles with no problems...