I used Mahle, but I got lucky I got the German-made one (afaik now most are made in Italy). It was NOS so I expect the electrical heater (to open early) to be defect. It's been 3 years without issue though.
Owner reviews for thermostat
In the past and up to several months ago, I’ve always gone with Saleri (Italy) pumps and Wahler (Germany) thermostats for the M54 and have had great results.
Bought it 2021 with 82k, I hit 200k today. I abuse this car, I use it for my mobile mechanic business, fishing, hunting, off roading, I’ve maxed it out dozens of times, it will beat V6 mustangs and Camaros. All I’ve replaced is the tires, the thermostat, and oil changes every 10k. Still runs perfect, no noises, perfect idle, perfect acceleration.
Make sure it's an OEM Toyota part, the aftermarket ones have the weep hole offset so it doesn't line up perfectly and it'll overheat every time
I used oem bmw coolant and a mahle thermostat.
I have an 06 Audi A3 2.0T Sportback with just over 105k miles; recently replaced the thermostat, spark plugs and coil packs. Other than being in need of some new brakes and a bit of cosmetic love, she's running strong.
I spent a good chunk of change on the Mishimoto thermostat and it got stuck closed within a couple months. Needed the car back right away and all I could get was a dirt cheap MotorRad one. Darn thing has been it in now without issue for a good long while now.
both thermostats were Starline from EuroCarParts in the UK. Last year the car started occasionally dropping temperature when travelling on motorway. It then eventually stopped getting to operating temperature... I replaced the thermostat... it started behaving same as the old thermostat. ...I replaced it and within a week it failed again. Every day it was taking longer to warm up.
I decided to try another thermostat, this time a Wahler and nothing has changed as the car will still not get up to temperature and no hot air.
Friend has a similar year Jeep GC V6 with 350k km (like 215k miles?). While it still runs great, it goes through a thermostat about every 6 months. Her husband is a mechanic and has the job down to about 20 min but still annoying.
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