Overheating... Probably a thermostat

[HijackTheLeft]

So, I haven't actually overheated yet, but the needle is all of a sudden trying desperately to get to the H. I was a little low on coolant, so I filled that up. It's still doing it though. But it's weird, because it's not consistent. I drove for 20 minutes, and it got up to where it normally gets, but then on the way home, I had to turn the heat on full blast to get it to come down at all. I'm pretty sure it's the thermostat, but only because I don't know what else it could be. Would it be a good idea to just go ahead and change it? Or is there anything else I should check first?

[nissangirl74]

Test it before you replace it but that's where I would start. Test everything first. Nothing sucks worse than replacing $500 worth of parts based on guesses when the problem was actually something very cheap.

I was a little low on coolant, so I filled that up. It's still doing it though.

Is it still losing coolant?

[discoballer]

Try removing the thermostat and driving it like that. if it still overheats you know its not the thermostat. if it runs good, maybe a little cold, then you know its the thermostat.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Nah removing T-stats cause other problems. Replace, refill, bleed

[HigherRhymes]

When my car had cold-start issues and overheated it was because of the coolant temperature sensor.

Is your ECU throwing codes?

[Andy4106]

thermostat is like a 10 dollar part and like a 30 minute fix. i say change that. needle dodgin is a sign that its bad.