03 GTI 1.8T Temp Gauge Spiking and Returning to Normal??

for the past few days my temp gauge has been making me think my car is about to overheat and then it goes back to normal.
i checked my coolant level, it is fine, added more and checked it the next day, it was the same. there is no excessive heat coming from the engine when i pop the hood and it is running fine leading me to believe that it is not actually overheating. the fans only cam on today, the gauge was in the red, i pulled over and popped the hood and like before there didn't seem to be any signs of it overheating..

Is it the thermostat?? or the actual gauge? or is it just some computer error??? or what? i would like to figure this out becuase i need to know when my car actually is overheating.

THANKS

Your water pump has a plastic impeller and could be on the verge of breaking altogether. You may actually have an overheating issue. Keep a watchful eye out.

_________________
Remember folks, Its a Volkswagen!

vw has a problem with there ect sensors, engine coolant temp, if it a black color replace it, if green still replace it, they have ongoing problems with them,but check yor water pump flow by removing the tank cap and remove the over flow tube off the tank and pull it so itll flow into the tank so you can see the coolant move, then have a second person to start and hold the rpm at about 3000 and you should see a good strong flow if not then you have a bad water pump

quote="BearBlaster03GTI"]for the past few days my temp gauge has been making me think my car is about to overheat and then it goes back to normal.
i checked my coolant level, it is fine, added more and checked it the next day, it was the same. there is no excessive heat coming from the engine when i pop the hood and it is running fine leading me to believe that it is not actually overheating. the fans only cam on today, the gauge was in the red, i pulled over and popped the hood and like before there didn't seem to be any signs of it overheating..

Is it the thermostat?? or the actual gauge? or is it just some computer error??? or what? i would like to figure this out becuase i need to know when my car actually is overheating.

THANKS[/quote]

_________________
I'm a 7yr VW/Audi Master tech, i will find an answer for you the best i can.
REMEMBER WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER!!!