Nah... you're ok there MB. Yes it is a concern when we as owners see the temp rise, that odd noise or shake from our cars.
Better to be safe than sorry, or in some cases left stranded on the road side, hood up, steam rising from your engine bay.
No cell phone service, not a soul on the road for miles, and in your case there MB, the odd Gator strolling across the roadway 20 yards from where your stranded. Sucks to be you!
While it is true our cars do tend to run, a little hotter than some/most cars past or present is still can be a shock to see the temp gauge rise. The expense for high temps, from the WP replacement, thermostat, radiator, fluid, hoses $$$ to other issues that
could cause.. motor damage.
For me, seeing it rise to 214 in the DIC came as a shock. However when considering the outside temps, the up hill grade I was on, after about 3 minute idle down/cool down at the top with no air flow, it was back to normal at 195.
Any change to the fan speed, and or the climate control, one or two clicks results in 2 degree temp change in the DIC sometimes in my car. Your results may vary.
The day I bought my Sky was hot 97 degrees, humidity off the charts. So while driving the 100 miles to get the Sky in my HHR, sitting in early morning traffic, the temp rose to 217. Sound familiar? GM designed the coolant/radiator in the HHR had me worry some. In the Sky on the return trip home,... top up, A/C going the temp during the hwy cruise home, no temp increase. When I got home.. things were different. 205..207..209 wth? 2 minutes later 195 sitting still. No air flow is no air flow, and imo our cars needs the air flow.
In the Turbo version, it creates more heat in the engine bay with little to no relief with exhaust for this heat to remove it's self.
The hood on our cars has those fake vents, which could help this out. Some of our owners have " altered " these vents to let heat
out of the engine bay. The fake side vents again here could be used for air flow through the engine bay. They designed it to be there, IF the owner wanted this later on, but during production the cost for making these vents work was not in the cards or price. Even in the bottom feeder radiator on our cars this would not be a problem. With the turbo model, with the IC in the way, less air flow to the radiator is still a question. 214 is my highest temp in the Sky.
IF... your having/seeing higher than normal temps in the DIC, how fast does it return to normal in the DIC with no air flow? With in 2 minutes? More? How long does the fan run on after shut down? 30 seconds? 3 minutes? Is there any sign in the expansion tank of a change in the fluid level? How much? IF these change drastically for you in a short period of time 2 weeks maybe here, then I'd worry some. Changes in the DIC temps not so much worry for me anymore. Your fear is warranted here over your investment in your joy. We all have that same feeling when something on our baby isn't to our liking.
LAC