Radiator fan motor failure
Book a workshop soon. You do not need to stop driving today.
If ignored: Left alone, the engine overheats whenever the car sits still, and a boiled engine is a head gasket.
When to stop: Stop and let it cool if the temperature gauge climbs into the red or the coolant boils, and do not drive on until the fan is fixed.
Affects model years: 2004-2008
Symptoms
- Temperature gauge climbs in traffic, then drops once moving
- Air-conditioning turns warm at the same time
- Fan does not run when the engine is hot and idling
- Coolant boils or the warning light comes on in a jam
Cause
The radiator fan motor seizes or slows with age. At speed the airflow through the radiator hides it, so the car behaves normally on the highway and overheats the moment it sits still. This is the fault Gen-2 owners mention most often when they talk about overheating, and it is cheap compared with a head gasket.
Solution
Ask a workshop to confirm the fan runs at both speeds with the engine hot. A replacement fan motor with blade is sold for the Gen-2 as an APM-type unit, so the part is easy to find. If the car has already boiled, do not keep driving it: stop, let it cool, and have it towed or checked before the next trip.
parts and labour · as of Oct 26, 2026
This is the one quirk on the page that can cost you an engine. The gauge is the only warning you get, and it lies while the car is moving because the airflow does the fan’s job.
If the temperature climbs in a traffic jam and falls as soon as you accelerate, stop treating it as a quirk. Park it, let it cool, and check whether the fan runs. A fan that is silent with the engine hot and the air-conditioning on is the answer.
The part is cheap. A replacement fan motor with blade is listed at RM178 from a Malaysian parts supplier, and the rest of the band is labour and coolant. That is a small bill next to a warped head.
Cost band checked 2026-10-26 against a Malaysian parts listing for the Gen-2 radiator fan motor with blade (RM178), plus labour and coolant.
Community notes
The Lowyat.NET Gen-2 thread names the radiator fan motor as a repeat failure, with one workshop contributor saying they replace it preventively on used cars.