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The thermostat is the unit that regulates the flow of the coolant in your engine. Basically,
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there are two coolant circles in your engine: the small circle and the big circle. The small circle
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is just the engine and the coolant tank. So when you start your car in the morning,
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the coolant is still cold and this thermostat will be closed. So that the coolant circulates
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only in this small circle. For what? Just to let your engine warm up faster than it would
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be if the radiator was included in this circle. So when the engine is warmed up, the thermostat
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opens and the coolant starts going through the big circle. The big circle includes the radiator and
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it includes the radiator of your climate system in the car. And this actually tells you how you
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check the thermostat and how you can verify that the thermostat is not working properly
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without going to the dealership or to the repair shop. Your thermostat may be broken in two major
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ways. The first way is when it's stuck open, and the second way is when it's stuck closed. So when
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your thermostat is stuck closed, what happens? You don't have any warm air from the climate system.
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You may put it into maximum and you will not have any warm air at all because all the coolant flows
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through the small circle and the climate system is included in the big circle. Also,
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your radiator will be cold even though the car is warmed up and the engine temperature is in
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the working range. Your radiator will be cold. You can just use your hand and check carefully
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if it's cold or hot. If it's hot, the thermostat is open. Now, if your thermostat is stuck open,
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there is one simple way to check it. You start your car and the coolant doesn't
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flow in the small circle, it flows in the big circle from the minute one, and you can check
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it by just checking the temperature of your radiator. So if your radiator starts warming up
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from the minute one when you start the engine, this is the clear sign that your thermostat needs
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replacement. It's stuck open, and now your car will warm up longer. So you will wait 15 or 20
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minutes till your car is warmed up or in the winter, it may not warm up at all. Of course,
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before you do these checks, also check if the coolant level is okay because any anomalies with
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the cooling system, you will start checking with the coolant level. If the coolant level is low,
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add coolant at first and then look at the thermostat problems and try to diagnose
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your car. So the question is, can you drive in this condition? Well, if the thermostat is
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stuck closed and your engine is overheating, it's not recommended to drive for longer than several
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minutes after you start the car. Because if you keep driving, your engine will be overheated
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and this will probably lead to problems with the engine and will be much more expensive to repair.
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If your thermostat is stuck open and the coolant circulates in the big circle, you can drive. The
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only problem is that your engine will not warm up correctly. So it will be cold, it will consume
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more fuel, it will be more prone to any damages, but you can drive. You don't need to call a tow
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truck or something like that. You can still drive. But the best place you can drive to is
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the dealership or the repair shop. Because if you ignore this problem and if you keep driving with a
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broken thermostat, there is a big chance that you will get an engine damage. On average, a normal
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thermostat will last for about 7 to 10 years or up to 150,000 miles. Now, this is just a valve
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so it works every time you turn on the engine and of course, it may go bad much sooner than you can
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expect it. The lifespan of your thermostat also depends on the quality of antifreeze you use. If
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you use bad quality antifreeze, there is a big chance that your thermostat will go bad sooner.
