Engine Engine Temp Problem

Engine Temp Problem

I've been having an issue with my engine temp guage. When I sit and run the car the guage stays in the middle like its supposed to. However, when I start driving, the guage drops to about the third or fourth line from the bottom on the guage, sometimes even lower when I drive it harder. The heat is still blowing hot, and there hasn't been any noticable drop in performance. I have a feeling the thermostat is shot and its just stuck open right now. If any of you guys agree or have a different idea, I'd love to hear it. Peace.

if you still have the original thermostat that came with the car, then yes... most likely you need to change the thermostat. my sister's camry was like that - it sits around halfway when parked and then it would go up and down when you drive. i changed it and it was ok.

I say the same. Idling, coolant doesn't flow very fast and it will heat up in the engine and cool down in the radiator. When you rev it, the coolant in the radiator will flood into the engine through the more than likely open thermostat. Whereas it should close off, it probably isn't and is letting COOL coolant circulate.

Trav