Engine temp problem

Hi all,

I've had a 1.8T 2001 A3 for a few years now but a few months ago I noticed a bit of a potential fault with the engine temp/thermostat.

The car takes a while to rise in engine temp especially when cold but will then get up to 90C and sit there quite happily. It never goes above this. When I turn the heater on, it blows warm on 'HI' but I wouldn't say that it was hot. With the heater on, the engine temp drops rising again to 90C when I turn it off. Most of my driving is around London but when I take it out on the motorway, after a while with the heater off, the engine temp starts to fall.

I've spoken to my mechanic (he's an Alfa specialist and can be a bit of a lazy sod) who suggested it might be the thermostat but said as long as it isn't overheating, it should be fine.

Also, the car idles high when first started as you'd expect but then falls after a minute or so to sit at below 1k RPM - not sure if this makes a difference.

Does this sound like a thermostat problem and if so am I ok to keep driving around on it?

Cheers

Thanks. To be honest it doesn't get thrashed that often as most driving is in London traffic but obviously when I'm on the motorway etc. doing higher speeds and the engine temp drops, is this going to cause issues?

Ok thanks. That's good to know. These cars don't have great MPG in the first place!

I'll have a look around for a how to guide. Presume there's a few on here.