Saturn 2003, L3

Live in FL, after I turn off the ignition the fan keeps running for about 4 or 5 minutes. I seems like it is cooling down the car. Doesn’t happen all the time, it might even be a cooler day when this happens, is that a problem, if so what should I do???

If you live in a hot area that’s not unusual. If it does the same thing on cool days, I would have it checked out.

We usually get posts about the fan NOT running when it is supposed to.

That is normal and is a good feature built into the car. When you shut the engine down, the coolant stops circulating and the heat from inside the engine that’s normally carried away by the coolant simply propagates to the engine’s surfaces and radiates out, heating the engine compartment beyond its normal operating temperature. Running the fans for a few minutes after shut off passes some air through the engine compartment to carry away some of that heat to prevent damage to other underhood components.

What many people are unaware of is that the temperature of the engine and its coolant actually increases to some extent after the ignition is shut off. This is as a result of the water pump no longer being able to send coolant through the radiator once the engine is stopped. So as to not cause damage to the engine and to other under-hood components, it is not unusual for the fan to run for a few minutes after the engine is shut off.

What the OP describes is totally normal, and is nothing to worry about…as long as the fan shuts off after a few minutes.

What @VDCdriver is referring to is “percolation.” When I lived in the high desert of Arizona…my Jeep Cherokee used to have a rise from 195 to about 220 degrees just sitting in the carport. I got used to hearing cars and trucks cycling their cooling fans on and off while walking through the mall parking lot.