I’m confused. The coolant message came on my dash yesterday and says the temp is between 187 and 190. The temperature gauge is the same as always, below the halfway mark. It’s a 2007 HHR with 137,000 miles. Not sure what this message means as the car doesn’t seem to be running hot at all. TIA.

 

Normal operating temperature. Nothing to worry about at all. The gauge is like an idiot light, it stays in the middle, and really doesn't move unless the temperature gets extremely high.

 

You are confused. The only coolant message would have been “Cooling Mode On” maybe ? That message would not tell you the actual temps. The only way to see the actual temp numbers is through the DIC display.
Maybe you saw a warning light/symbol and thought it was for coolant when it was actually a warning for low oil.

 

You could consider changing the Dexcool and thermostat. The HHR is 15 years old and Dexcool has only a 5 year lifespan. If you’ve already changed it , then check for air bubbles in the cooling system.

 

What is "the coolant message" I know of no such thing? Do you mean you scrolled through the DIC messages and saw the digital coolant temp readout? Anything between 180F and 217F is OK; normal cruising is around 190F.

 

Me too.

 

She hasn’t been back since this post on the 19th.

 

Ford recently released a yellow Anti-freeze that is good for 10 years & compatable w/Dexcool.

 

I’m sorry, I’ve been sick with Covid.

 

Thanks for helpful replies and I must have explained myself poorly. The coolant message is on the dic and does display the temperature. I added antifreeze to it last night as temps here were dropping to single digits and the coolant message with temp is still there.