What should the Temp Gauge be at in a Tacoma

Hello, I recently had an issue with the dealer in that I took my 2020 Tacoma to be serviced (radiator flush) and they inadvertently left a radiator cap off on my wheel well when my car was done being serviced. After driving around a few days, I noticed some steam coming from under my hood. Stopped and checked the car. Found I was 2 quarts low on oil and discovered my rad cap off. Took it into the dealer to have it checked out. They checked it out, put more radiator fluid in there.

Now my temp gauge runs midway betwenn the C and H. Should it be hovering there or should it be hovering at the notch just past the C (about 1/4 of the way up)??

 

Midway. Normal.

 

I’d be asking for an extended warranty and my money back for the service after they let you run your engine low on oil and coolant for several days. You paid a premium for dealer service and not only did they not do it right, it could have caused engine damage that may become a bigger issue in the future. Maybe it did cause damage, maybe it didn’t, but their incompetent tech put you in a position to have to worry about that now, and the manager (or owner) need to resolve that with you, or I would take it to Toyota corporate.

 

Mine stays dead center.

 

Dealer left the cap off - normal behavior. LOL

 

Just another trolling attempt...

 

12 o’clock

 

Straight up on the gauge is normal.

 

It worked LOL

 

My feeling is the temp gauge is not really reading the true temperature. It is more of idiot light than a gauge.

 

it is,, and now we see why.

 

From observation it’s definitely not a standard linear temperature gauge. I read somewhere on TW that once it hits within a range of normal temperatures it goes to center, outside of the ranges it can go lower or higher- that makes sense.

 

My SCII shows about 5-10* above the T Stat rating, and the fake dash gauge reads mid way.