I have a 2003 Santa Fe 3.5L that has started overheating when I am parked with the motor running. When I am going down the road over 35 mph then it cools back down. I have noticed a slight puddle under the vehicle after ithas been parked for a little while. Does this sound like a water pump issue? Thanks for any help.

 

If the puddle shows up while the Santa Fe is idling and the puddle is coolant, then yes, you likely have a water pump going out or a pin hole in a hose. If the puddle shows up after you shut off the engine and it appears to be clear water, that's condensation dripping off of the air conditioning condenser, which is normal. The overheating problem also could be a bad thermostat or a partially plugged radiator. Check your coolant level. If it's normal, it's not a leak but the thermostat or radiator.

If the pump is going out, you should be able to see traces of antifreeze around the weep hole of the pump and where it has dripped onto other components. You'll also smell a very distinctive, sweet odor. Same is true as you inspect the hoses. If no leaks are found, then you need to diagnose the thermostat and the radiator. If you haven't noticed wide fluctuations in the temp gauge as you drive along, but steady temp once you get it cooled down, I suspect the radiator. If you have seen sudden drops or rises in engine temp, then I suspect the thermostat. If you've regularly flushed the radiator on an annual basis, then I would replace the thermostat first. If you've never flushed the radiator, you may wish to start by having that serviced. A radiator flush may/may not solve the problem depending on how badly it might be plugged.

 

Ken, Thanks for the info. Yesterday morning I added some water to the radiator and the overflow. The temp has maintained at normal levels so far. I haven't noticed any more puddles underneath. It seems kinda weird that the level got low without some leaking going on somewhere. I suspect it might be a hole in a hose somewhere. I just haven't had the time to get underneath it to see if I could see anything. I will keep you posted if your interested. Again, thanks for the info.

 

It could be you've had a partial boil over through the reservoir tank. This could have happened several minutes after you had shut off the car and walked away from it. Engines continue to build heat when they are turned off and coolant circulation stops. If an engine is on the verge of erupting when stopped, it will usually do so within a minute or two.

There is one other possible problem that could be creating your heat buildup at idle. The Santa Fe has an electric fan that cools the radiator. There's a temperature sensitive switch plumbed into the cooling system that turns the fan on when temperatures start to get high (actually I think the switch triggers a relay that in turn supplies power to the fan). It could be the switch, the relay or possably a fuse in this circuit are bad. When you are driving 35 mph, there's sufficient air flow through the radiator to keep temps normal or near normal.

Start your Santa Fe up and let it idle. Listen for the fan to kick on as the temperature rises. On some cars, the radiator fan kicks on for a few seconds at start up, even when cold. Regardless, if engine temperatures are getting on the high side and you never hear the fan come on, you now know where the problem lies.

Good luck.

 

That fan was coming on all the time whenever the temp got over the midway point on the gauge. I could always hear it anyway..... never popped the hood to take a look....just made my stop and got moving asap to get it cooled back down.

 

I agree with Ken. It sounds like just A/C condensation. The fan is supposed to kick on when a pre-determined temp in the radiator is reached. As long as the radiator overflow tank is the in normal range, you should be OK. Just keep an eye on it for a few days.

 

Well, if the fan is working as designed, and there are no obvious leaks from the pump (I guess we didn't discuss drive belt condition and tension to the pump, you should check that too), then it's either the thermostat or the radiator. The thermostat is a cheap fix. You might try that first but the nature of the gradual overheating at idle with normal cooling at speed suggest poor radiator circulation to me.

 

the water pump isn't driven by an external drive belt. it runs off the timing belt

 

If the fan is running, try to feel the air coming through the radiator, it should be hot. If it's cool or just luke warm, you could have air trapped in the radiator, or a plugged rad. But the fact that it cools when moving sounds less likely to be plugged. So air lock or possibly a bad headgasket....