Thermostat OEM Volkswagen or MotoRad

Big fan of the Motorad SNN-2000-195. Works great.

Just so happens my clearance thermostat is a Motorad which has the VW/Audi p/n cast on the housing!

I did the timing belt water pump thing on my MK4 last year, and shortly after the test drive with fresh genuine VW antifreeze and while patting myself on the back for a job well done it occurred to me that I hadn't changed the thermostat. Sure enough a month or so ago when the first of the really cold whether started around here the temp gauge would only get to about halfway to normal during a trip to town and back. I tried the ol' cardboard in the grill routine for a couple of days until I got a chance to change the thermostat and that brought things back to normal.

I've got a 13 sport with 135k miles on it. Only ever done oil changes, spark plugs, 12v battery and a thermostat. Other than that it’s been stupid reliable.

I use them all the time with no issues.

Parts 03F-010-501-B Sensor 04E-121-113-G

After getting mine back together, and filling it back up with coolant, i found the new thermostat from the dealership was stuck wide open and the car wouldn’t get over 110*F.

Had a Motorad Fail Safe a few years ago and it was a POS.

Tried a Gates from RockAuto and it was a Motorad in the box. Installed it anyway, it seemed to hold the temp *lower* than the 170 Stant did, and my engine cooled all the way down to cold when I went down a long grade.

I tried a parts store Motorad, failed. Tried a Napa gold stat that turned out to be repackaged Motorad, failed.