26 days of heat is nothing to boast about. I think here in Phoenix we have had 100s since May. Although we experienced a cooling trend where the temps only reached 96 as a high. Yesterday at 9:00 am it was already 93. Good thing my Hummer runs cool.[&:]

 

Another Theory to offer:

It may not be a defect. Many times (especially with GM) certain batches of cars are produced with certain specs.

Example:

H3's produced that will be shipped to the northern, cooler parts of the US may have been intentionally produced with the Higher temp thermostat's to keep the engine warmer, where as the H3's produced to be shipped to the southern states may have the cooler opening thermostats to keep the engine cooler.

Now, knowing GM, they may have botched the orders, and shipped the Northern H3's to the south, and vice versa, OR, because they are in such financial crunches, decided too late that they need to fill orders and just ship them off wherever they were needed.

If you are a gearhead, changing the thermostat shouldn't be too hard. I know there are sites that offer the different temp thermostats for the H3.

 

Find someone with an OBD2 scanner and read the ECT. If it is the same as the temp gauge, independently check engine temperature. This just makes sure that the engine is actually running hot versus an indication/sensor problem. This isn't a complete diagnosis for the high temps.

 

The temp gauge never budged above "well warmed-up", regardless of outside temp or load in my previous several vehicles. With the H3, the temp reading fluctuates (above a midpoint) depending on the outside temp and load. Even though its a long way from the top of the gauge, I'm uneasy seeing the needle climb from a "normal" position when then outside temp gets hot or driving up a long grade. It seems to me the cooling system should be able maintain a stable temp for anything the typical driver can throw at it. Next time its in for service, I'm having the dealer check it out.

 

Just got my computer back up and running. Thanks for all the input. I will call the dealer and have them check into it.