Thermostat Wahler or OEM Honda

I work at a Honda dealership in the mechanic field, and I would recommend the OEM thermostat, unless you have a rebuilt engine.

Stop using cheap thermostats. Get an oem honda unit and it will last and work correctly.

Your temp gauge is reading low because your mechanic is not using an OEM Honda thermostat. An OEM thermostat is designed specifically for your engine and the car will warm up quickly and the temp gauge will sit at the 50 yard line in any weather.

The Honda thermostat opened probably 50% more than the aftermarket, so lesson learned there.

I installed a Wahler thermostat a little over a year ago and it's still holding strong.

I had two Wahlers and they leaked as soon as I fitted them. In exactly the way you described.

I got the wahler one in 2019, that would explain the really slow leak I have.

My Wahler thermostat starts to leak after 4 years. It's not a big leak (only a cup a month) but I'd swap it asap.