Hi, I have a 1999 S70 T5 that I absolutely adore, and would love to keep forever, but lately it's been running at about half of the usual running temperature. Usually no matter what the weather, the car runs at about half-way up the temp guage (sorry, i'm totally not car-savvy, i'm not sure what that equates to degree-wise), but recently, despite spirited driving, it's only been reaching about the quarter-way mark. The weather in my area has gotten a lot colder recently, but I've heard that it shouldn't really affect the operating temperature once the car warms up. I would just like to know what could be causing this problem (the thermostat, maybe the guage itself?) and how bad it is for the car to be driving it at such a low temp. Thanks so much for any help!

 

Have the thermostat and coolant temp sensor checked.