The temperature gauge needle moves to the second tick mark and fluctuates up and down, therefore I need a thermostat replacement. My question is the following:

If the thermostat has a problem (it is 25F outside) will this cause the engine error code of 116? 116 points to the engine temperature sensor. I noticed that the temp gauge rapidly rose from the second to seventh tick mark before the engine check light came on. Does the engine temperature sensor needs to be replaced or did the bad thermostat cause the sensor to register a bad reading?


Note: I reset the engine check light and one day later the same thing happen: the engine check light came on again. At the traffic light, I made a very sharp left turn and there was a rapid rise in the temp gauge from the second to the seventh tick mark before settling at third mark. Then the engine check light appeared again.


Thanks