Thremostat change. HONDA FR-V (BE)

HONDA FR-V (BE) 2.2 i CTDi (BE5)

a. h.

29.12.2021 13:32

Member

Hi, I have a 2007 Honda FRV 2.2 ICTDI. It takes forever for the engine to warm up, so I believe the thermostat is either stuck open, or its missing. Looking in the engine bay I cannot see it, but I believe it is somewhere below the EGR valve. Does anyone know if I can access the thermostat from underneath the car if I remove the engine tray shield.

Any info please. Ash.

Started

29.12.21

Latest reply

24.11.25

Replies

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524

@Quing1943

31.12.2021 12:33

Member

The thermostat is located under the oil cooler, if the engine protection is removed from the bottom, access to the thermostat will open.
@B. HAMPTON

21.11.2025 16:30

Member

@a. h. Definitely sounds like its stuck open from what you're describing, classic symptoms. When I did mine I found it easier to work from below than trying to squeeze past all that EGR nonsense from the top. Just make sure you've got a decent socket set and some extensions, its a bit fiddly but doable in a driveway.
@Thomas Wood

21.11.2025 17:33

Member

Had exact same problem on my 07 FRV last year. Engine barely got to temp even on motorway runs. Got underneath with the tray off and could see the thermostat housing clear as day below the oil cooler like @Quing1943 mentioned. Whole job took me about 2 hours including refilling coolant.
@daniel_sheffield

24.11.2025 11:47

Member

@a. h. Just a heads up - when you're under there, theres a wiring harness clip attached to the thermostat housing that's easy to miss. Nearly broke mine trying to yank the old one out before I spotted it. Also the new one only goes in one way, the bolt holes tell you the orientation.
@C/C/Z

24.11.2025 12:11

Member

i tried doing it from the top once... never again lol. way easier from underneath, you actually have room to work. make sure you get the right temp rating though, think its 77 or 82 degrees depending on which one you buy.
@e.maxwell

24.11.2025 12:45

Member

@Thomas Wood How much coolant did you need to drain? I've got the same job coming up on mine and wondering if I need to do the whole system or just partially drain it.
@James Turner

24.11.2025 13:21

Member

@e.maxwell You don't need to drain the whole system mate, just open the radiator petcock from underneath and let maybe a litre or two out. Enough so it's below the thermostat level. Saves you having to refill loads and bleed it all properly.
@HARRIET

24.11.2025 13:37

Member

@a. h. definitely the thermostat if its taking forever to warm up. mine was the same and fuel economy went down the toilet too because the engine was running cold all the time. easy fix though once you get under there.
@Oscar P.

24.11.2025 13:52

Member

@daniel_sheffield good shout on the wiring clip, i forgot about that and spent 10 minutes wondering why it wouldnt come out 😅. also dont forget to torque the bolts properly when you put the new one in, think its 8 foot pounds or something.
@B. HAMPTON

24.11.2025 14:49

Member

@James Turner Cheers for that tip about the petcock, didn't know you could just drain from there. saves mucking about with the bottom hose. gonna tackle mine next weekend now i know its not too bad.
@Thomas Wood

24.11.2025 15:02

Member

@Oscar P. Yeah 8 foot pounds sounds about right, definitely don't overtighten them or you'll crack the housing. And make sure you run the engine for ages afterwards with the heater on full blast to get any air bubbles out of the system. learned that one the hard way when i had to do it twice 🙄.