I got the sensor for $17.00 so I figured I'd just swap it just for peace of mind. This is my ex-wife's jeep and for the second time it has spiked the guage and displayed the "check guages" indicator. It's weird, but both times this has happened, she was on the phone with me at the very instance it occurred. Just as I told her to pull over and shut the engine down, she said the temp guage was back under 210. She's not the type to listen to reason and will just keep on going. Both times she was doing 50-55 mph on the highway. Also, both times she said the engine was doggy and smoothed out quickly when the temp went down.
She said she could hear the electric fan running (AC was on) It's strange that it seemed to just spike momentarily and then rapidly drop to a safe level (30 secs or less). So the question... can a fualty sensor send data that would make the engine run crappy then smooth out when it registers a safe temp. I hate to keep driving to her house (48 miles) while her moronic boyfriend peeps out the window. Since my son rides in the Jeep, I tolerate such things.