After driving for 45min the temp gauge is only over the "A" in Normal. I can't remember the car running this cool before. Shouldn't it be higher than this? I'm thinking the t-stat went and is stuck open not letting the car heat up.
Doesnt the gauge sweep from left to right and the letters "normal" go from left to right. Maybe I'm confused but "A" would almost seem like an overheating problem.
The issue isn't what anyone remembers about the reading, or actually where the needle is pointing. The issue is that with a factory gauge you don't really know what the temperature is. You need a calibrated gauge that will actually tell you an accurate temperature before you start trouble shooting - or before you even really know if there is trouble - if there are no symptoms other than the factory gauge reading. It could simply be a bad sending unit - until you get accurate temperature data, you're just guessing.
Doesnt the gauge sweep from left to right and the letters "normal" go from left to right. Maybe I'm confused but "A" would almost seem like an overheating problem.