PurdueGuy

sounds pretty much normal. The temp gauge on these cars is a much smaller range than on most other cars, so the difference between say 1/4 and 1/2 isn't really that much. As long as it's not constantly trying to go past 3/4, and the fan is kicking on properly at 3/4 (and when AC is on) and reducing the temps, it's normal.

If it makes you feel better, you can flush & fill the system if that hasn't been done in a long time. It *might* cause it to heat up a little less quickly, but it may stay the same. Good coolant system care is always a good idea, though.

..and just because I'm thinking about it, never use "stop leak" or other similar products unless you just don't care about the car anymore and want to limp it through its last days... fix leaks the right way, by finding the leak and replacing the bad part.

scolls

Well the system doesn't have any leaks. It seems the fan is working properly. At an idle it comes on when the AC is on. I read a little tutorial on how to set up an additional manual fan switch and I may do that since it was pretty simple.

My concern is on a long trip, or a lot of city driving, the car will overheat. I plan to move to the Detroit area in the next few months, and there will be a lot of stop and go so I want to make sure it won't overheat. One of them main reasons I got this car was to get better city gas milage then my Jeep.

PurdueGuy

is it actually overheating (boil over) or are you just referring to the fan turning itself on? If you're getting boil over, then something really is wrong.

scolls

It's not boiling over. I'm just going by the gauge readings.

PurdueGuy

then it's not overheating - it's normal. Overheating would be if it went way into the red & boiled over. Getting up to the red, then the fan kicking on, then it cooling down - that's completely normal.

scolls

Went on a 48 mile trip today, where 40 miles of it was on the highway and it stayed at right about 1/2. Going there I ran it at 75 MPH, and it went above 1/2 between 1/2 and 3/4. On the way back I set the cruise at 70 and it stayed at 1/2 the whole way. It seems when I run it above 3000 RPMs, it runs towards 3/4, so I'll just keep it at 70. When I got into town, it ran at a little above 1/2, especially at stops. When I drive to Detroit I'll get a better indication of how it does in the city.

On a side note, after replacing this ECTS with a brass dealership one, I went from averaging 23 MPG to 32 MPG.