Temp gauge not going up in car reads --- Engine light is on
 

Hi HHR network I would like your advice on this problem I've been having with my 2007 Chevy HHR lt. It started in july when temp gauge wont go up when car was on and engine light was on, well we took it to a dealership and got fixed. Then in late november, it did it again, i was going to go back to the dealership but a couple days later the temp gauge went up, kind of an on and off thing where it worked for a while and the engine light on and the temp gauge went back down and coolant read --- again. well it went back to normal for a week until today it has happened again. I am planning to take it back to the same dealership that has done past repairs. the repair is still under warranty but i'm worried it will turn into an 500-1000 repair. I am wondering if any of you have ran into this issue and fixed it yourselves? i would truly appreciate any help and advice on this problem. Also i did take it to O'reilly's and they read faulty temp gauge

What was the code number? P0128 perhaps?

Does the analog temp gauge work?

That is a real common thing; to start your thermostat is probably stuck open, or the temp sender is bad/bad connection.

But need the code number!

I'm sorry I can;t recall what the code was BUT the O reilly's guy did say it could be stuck open

Without the number from 2,000 miles I'm guessing. Nether of those is a $500 job, but some mechanics don't know what they are doing and screw thing up and fix things that are not broken.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...l-p0128-24493/

The temp sender is on the t-stat housing, it just unscrews. The connections could be bad/corroded.

Don't go cheap on the thermostat! Get the AC Delco

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Don't use any other coolant then Dexcool

Alright i will look into that, thank you very much, but what happened a bit ago was I was driving and my temp gauge went back up but the engine light was still on, it did this before in late november before going to normal. It's just frustrating

Use the search tool. " flatline" should give you a bunch of hits that will explain it; I've done it too many times to do it again.

Chevy HHR Network - Search Results

Very common issue with HHR's. 99% of the time it's the thermostat.

Frustration is simply a problem you haven't encountered and resolved yet.
We've seen it many times before.

Alright guys my engine light turned off and thermostat has started working again, this is just strange, I will keep an eye on it and may even replace the thermostat anyways and I truly appreciate everyone's help in this thread and forum, thank you very much!