hi guys i have a 2004 wrx.
im new to the world of imprezas so still learning about them

ive noticed that my water temp gauge gets to operating temp really quickly. maybe within like half a mile of driving or roughly 2 mins of running. i dont know if this is normal or a sign of something faulty.

it maintains temp at middle of gauge from then on no problems, including a 100 mile trip it didnt fluctuate once.

thanks

 

Welcome

Thats normal for the water temp in any car to get up there quite quickly, 1-2 miles is good, it may take a little longer in cold weather but it seems spot on for me, its your oil temp that takes longer and you shouldnt use the water temp to gauge that your engine is up to its operating temperature, it can take 5-10 miles for the oil to get there compared to the water.

Tony

 

thanks for puttin my mind at rest.
i was unsure on how quickly the water heated on the wrx. was gettin a little suspect of the thermostat.

 

Tony will confirm, the water gauge in the Impreza is notoriously innaccurate too - i.e. the temperature of the coolant will fluctuate, but the gauge may not necessarily show this. I've heard by quite a few degree's.

 

Mine warms up quite quickly, but the oil temperature lags by at least five miles.

 

I did wonder then same thing many years when I got my STi, I believe one reason it comes up to temp so quickly is because the coolant is also used to cool the turbo, as this has got exhaust gases running through it, it heats up very quickly...I could be wrong though.