There have been a few threads of late about cars taking a long time to warm up in the recent weather, I had been reasonably sure it was 'normal' due to the cold weather but I'm not so sure now and am about to punt the car to a garage to get the thermostat replaced (05 plate / 54k miles). But just before I do I'd like to run this past folks one last time.
On my journey in today part through town traffic then dual carriageway, 7 miles total / about 15-20 mins the gauge was sitting half way between the floor and 90 Deg. It was about 1 Deg C today. I have seen it climb to 90 - very slowly - then dropping quite quickly back to the half way position. This kindov suggests that the thermostat isn't regulating quite as it should but also suggests that it is doing something!
My wifes 1.2 polo is at full temp about 5 minutes after leaving the house on the same journey so surely my turbo's lump should be getting hot even quicker?
I do notice that the ed30 / Pirelli engines have a 87 Deg C thermostat but the KO3's have an 80 Deg C thermostat. I mention this as a lot of the ed30's / Pirelli guys seem to be saying theirs heat up quickly. But maybe thats an age issue as well since the KO4 engined golfs are a few years younger than the KO3's like mine ...
Bit of a ramble but I'm looking for a bit of reassurance to justify the £100 to change the thermostat when there may be nothing wrong with it ...