I promise this is my last thread,

My engine temperature gage is being kinda wacky, I noticed that it never stays consistant. If I drive on the freeway, it drops to low, when I get off, it'll raise a tad bit, but it may go right back down. When its near half, the heat will work, but when it drops low, the heat will only blow cold air.


Is it a sensor or the water pump failing? This is my first Volvo and I really like it but Im thinking if its gonna give me issues I want to sell it, my mechanic told me if I find the exact issue he can fix it.

 

Sounds more like a dodgy thermostat or possible engine fan temperature sensor. Is the return hose hot?
I would think if the water pump was failing you would have an overheat issue.

 

Im not sure if the return hose is hot, but when I look under the hood, you can smell something almost "burning".

Today after riding around for awhile, it jumped to the middle and stayed there.

 

The fact that you lose cabin heat when the gage says the temp is low and have it when the gage is high would make me think your gage is working. Is there any chance you are low on coolant? the smell would make me think you have a leak. Is your system holding pressure? faulty fan operation and or thermostat as mentioned would be worth checking into. I have found thatmy temp comes up pretty quick and has very little variation while running....

 

No, the coolant level is fine. I even got it flushed in refilled in fear of that being the issue but it wasnt.

The million dollar question is will it over heat? Although the needle jumps to the middle, when I hop on the freeway it FALLS right back down to low.

 

Sound like thermostat is bad. the coolant temp is not being regulated properly by the thermostat mechanism.

 

Should the thermostat be happen to get stuck in a closed position then yes, it can overheat. By driving it on the interstate without proper engine heat there is the possibility that the engine and/or emission system components may be damaged.
If the thermostat is open it should be possible to see movement of the coolant in the surge tank.

 

Replace the thermostat and go from there. It's like the cheapest thing you can do.

 

I took the car in and guess what, it was the thermostat. Yay!
Thank you all for your kind help.