The reason that the temp is steady on other cars is because the needle is programmed to not let you read the actual temperature. The needle is basically a dummy light, it stays in the dead center until the car is on the verge of overheating, at which point the needle will move rapidly to the red zone. This is done to solve the problem of owners needlessly worrying about how their car is running a few degrees hotter. The car can run a few degrees hotter in this setup and the owner will have no clue because the needle will not budge. In fact, some Japanese cars have their gauges programmed to sit at the same exact location even with temperature variations of 20C or more!

I'll take the real Mercedes gauge anyday. Now only if we still had the oil pressure gauge.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record