Thanks for the write up. I did it in 30 minutes. Piece of cake.

 

Another thanks! I just got my 2006 2LT last week and 2 days ago, the temp gauge stopped working. "Sh**!", said I. Checked on the forum, and sure enough it's a common problem with a complete write up on how to fix it. I love car forums! I won't own a car now that doesn't have an active forum.

 

Mine went out last month @ 56,000 miles, It cost me $0.00 becuse of the 100,000 mile powertrain coverage that we all have. I sure hope everybody posting were out of warranty at the time of change. Love those warranties!!
VT

 

...I think my supercharger voided the powertrain warranty

 

Nahhhh....... Ya think?

 

mebbe they wouldn't notice it....

 

I guess one of the ‘good’ things about buying a previously owned vehicle is some of the ‘dumb stuff’ has already been taken care of.

I just went out and looked, the cooling system in my HHR already has the ‘green stuff’ in it.

I was planning on getting a jug of Dex Cool to top it off before winter but now I’ll just use the Prestone antifreeze I already have, if it needs it. Currently the coolant is right at the Cold level as it should be since the car has not been driven today,… yet.

 

2006 purchased new in sept 2006. 40,000 miles. It started when the outside temp dropped into the 40's.
I just did mine, took about an hour. 2.4 with oil cooler and auto. The stat was ok, the internal rubber / plastic seal was deformed. I got mine from Auto Zone for about $22. They read the code it was as everyone stated. They would not clear the code so I pulled the battery.
The car does run colder than stock - about 5 deg.
I will not go to Auto Zone due to their lack of help. I went to Pep Boysto get oil for my other vehicles. I was wondering if they had the stat. They had the stat. , it looked better made and and was only $4.00 more. I would suggest their stat.


The check engine light went out but the remote start and a/c did not work. After I pulled the bat, all worked fine.

 

I wouldn't be to hard on AutoZone not clearing the code - I think someone posted something about them not clearing codes due to liability reasons. And I can kinda agree with that - too many people leave with an incorrect code in their mind and then do the wrong thing to fix the wrong problem as they get the codes mixed up. I don't how many times I have had friends/relatives say "I think the the code was ......"! Or, if the code refers to something safety-related and you had a problem, that would put them in a potentially liable situation. I have sometimes pulled codes for friends and neighbors - and cleared the non-safety related ones - if I encountered a safety-related one, I would not clear it either, and would advise them to book an appointment with a garage/dealer asap.

Clearing it by disconnecting the battery, or pulling a fuse that some have referred to, is not that big a deal.

But, glad you got it fixed and saved a pile of $'s at the same time. Good job man.

 

I used to fix radiators and other things like that for a living. I was always partial to Daniel brand thermostats and radiator things, but in the many years since I closed shop I’ve been buying other brands when I need one.

The last one I replaced was in the ’04 Neon. The replacement was made in Mexico and the dead one { which was stuck open so the engine did not get up to operating temp which caused the heater not to work} was made in China.

Neither had a brand name stamped in the metal so I don’t know which brand to avoid in the future. I did buy the replacement at the dodge dealer but only because I got it for $3.99 and was guaranteed that it would fit. The replacement came in a box that was just marked genuine Mopar parts. It came with a gasket tooboot.