It buys you peace of mind to do this check, but it costs you practically nothing apart from few minutes of your time.Step 1 - Locate Coolant Temperature Sensor I would check the coolant level (please don't open the radiator cap when engine is hot!) and the tightness of the radiator cap (again, don't loosen it when engine is hot!), though. A bouncing temperature reading at these speeds would be a cause of concern. If there's variation in the engine temperature (apart from asymptotically reaching the steady-state level), something's not right. The engine temperature when driving at highway speeds fo extended periods should stay constant. If your engine temperature stays normal when driving at highway speeds for extended periods, your water pump and thermostat are probably working just fine. When driving, the air current in the radiator ensures that radiator is adequately cooled even without fans rotating, and thus, the thermostat opening temperature (usually bit below 90 degrees Celsius or so) dictates the engine temperature. Thus, you are close to the hot red zone when idling, but you never reach the hot red zone if everything is working properly. However, the fan(s) kick in at much higher temperature, probably around 100 degrees Celsius or so. The thermostat opens at usually bit below 90 degrees Celsius or so, which is the normal temperature of the engine when driving. Thus, the system continuously heats up, until the radiator fan(s) kick in. When idling, there is no air current on the radiator. This is perfectly normal in cars that actually idle (my last two vehicles have had idle stop/start system, and a hybrid system, respectively, so I haven't seen this behaviour in the last two vehicles).
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