08 Coolant temp sensor P0117

[fone_fanatic]

A friend of mine called me up saying her car is making wierd noises, a/c isn't blowing cold, and the check engine light came on. I told her to bring it over and what I first noticed was the idling was rough. Also the temp guage was past the H. I scanned it and got P0117. After a google search I found that this code refers to a bad coolant temperature sensor.

Ran over to autozone, bought a new temp sensor for $25, bottle of coolant and some freon. Swapped out the coolant temp sensor, topped up the antifreeze (only needed about a quarter of a bottle) and started up. Idled much better and ran it in my driveway for 10-15 minutes. Temp guage was right at the middle and A/C was blowing cold without recharing it with freon.

10 minutes after she left she called me saying the A/C stopped blowing cold, the temp needle was below C and the check engine light had came back on (I had cleared it after replacing the sensor).

20 minutes after that she called again sayin temp gauge was over H. She had let the car sit for about 15 minutes and again temp gauge went past H, then to middle then to below C.

What are the chances we got a faulty Coolant Temp Sensor from auto zone? Is there anything else I need to look into?

[jamesslcx]

Could have an air pocket in the cooling system. Does vehicle have a coolant leak?