Dear Scotty,
I have a 2005 Honda CR-V AWD automatic transmission 197000 miles and it is overheating. The temperature gauge is high but is not triggering the overheat light on the dash just yet. I have replaced the two fans (condenser fan and cooling fan) and they working fine. The radiator is not leaking coolant and the a/c is working good. The check engine light is on and the code is P0420.
What do you think is the problem?
Thank you Scotty.
If I'm not mistaken, a P0420 usually indicates the catalytic converter needs to be replaced. Some others can chime in here, but that may be your problem. If the cat is clogged and causes "excessive exhaust backpressure", that can cause it to overheat.
@elvisal99 My cat was stolen and I have replaced way before the overheating problem. Also, I know few people with the same car and they replaced their cat and they never had an issue with overheating.
A lot of things can cause overheating. Stuck thermostat or clogged radiator would be major suspects, especially if the thermostat is original or the cooling system has not been well maintained over the last 20 years. Could even be a corroded or loose water pump impeller. See the troubleshooting section of the FAQ.
The P0420 code is probably a separate issue. If you look that code up you'll find there are multiple potential causes for it.
@chucktobias so, based on what you posted, the problem might be in either water pump, radiator, or thermostat. The question is gow I would be able to know which on of those parts has failed and needs to be replaced?
@vincent You determine faulty parts by testing them. An online search will yield information on testing just about anything. As already mentioned there is also troubleshooting information in the site FAQ.