what I mean by gets hot is that as it is sitting there ideling the temp gauge will creep up until it is beginning to go above the half way mark...needless to say, I am not going to let it get hotter than that.
As far as when the fans come on highspeed...yes, when i first start the car, the fans will come on full speed for a few seconds, then kick off....There is a dramatic drop in fan speed when I check them while the car is idleing after I have driven it for a bit. For instance today, I drove about 5 miles to the gas station from my house....temp gauge was fine the whole way.....by the time I finished filling my tank, the gauge was creeping above the half way mark....about 15 seconds after I started moving again, the gauge dropped back to normal and stayed that way for the next 2 hours of non-stop driving.
The only thing recently done in regards to the cooling system is the water pump was changed last summer. I just got this car from my mom, so to my knowledge there have been no other issues.
I have a 99 intrigue that no longer works...had the same problem with the cooling fans not staying on....I replaced the cooling sensor and checked the relays...nothing worked...I eventually unplugged the sensor and this allowed the fans to run constantly, but the drawback is that you will not be able to tell if your car is over heating.
I have not gone as far as changing the radiator out or anything yet....I figured there was something else to check first...I trully believe its an issue with the fans not kicking into high gear as needed. Please let me know if you have any other thoughts...thanks.