Coolant Temperature Sensor Replacement Cost

Your temperature gauge drops to cold or stops working, the fans keep running after you park, or the check engine light shows P0128. A bad coolant temperature sensor can cause all of that, and where it sits decides the price.

So how much does it cost to replace a coolant temperature sensor? With Jeep’s own sensor, coolant and job time for its 3.6 liter V6, it comes to $174.12, and the sensor itself is $27.73.

On GM’s 3.6 liter V6 crossovers the bill is much bigger. Owners told NHTSA, the US road safety agency, they paid or were quoted $800 to $2,200, mostly with a new thermostat at the same time.

In this guide I will show you what the sensor and the job cost and what owners paid. I will also show you when a software update or a wiring repair is the real fix, and the signs of a bad sensor.

What the Sensor and the Job Cost

Jeep found that the sensor on some 2023 Grand Cherokee 3.6 V6 models could leak coolant through a broken lock ring. It paid its dealers 1.0 hour to inspect and replace the sensor, with some of the coolant drained.

With Jeep’s sensor and coolant on a dealer parts website, checked October 13, 2026, and $132 an hour, Tekmetric’s US average from June 2026:

So replacing the sensor on this Jeep comes to $174.12. The same $27.73 sensor fits the 3.6 V6 in 2017 to 2025 Grand Cherokee and Durango, 2018 to 2025 Wrangler and 2020 to 2025 Gladiator models.

GM’s sensor for the 3.6 V6 in the 2018 to 2024 Buick Enclave is $32.16 on its dealer parts website. On most cars the sensor is a small part of the bill, and the time it takes to reach it sets the rest.

What Owners of GM’s V6 Crossovers Paid

Here is what owners told NHTSA they paid or were quoted, with a link to each complaint:

• A repair shop put the fix for a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer at 63,000 miles at $800, with the intake plenum off to reach the temperature sensor and thermostat, filed in April 2026.
• The owner of a 2019 Blazer with a P0128 code that kept coming back was looking at close to $1,000 for a thermostat and temperature sensor, filed in April 2025.
• A new temperature sensor on a 2017 GMC Acadia cost about $1,000 after its A/C stopped working properly, filed in August 2024.
• A new thermostat housing, coolant temperature sensor and coolant flush on a 2022 Blazer at 37,000 miles cost $1,131.52, filed in March 2026.
• Two dealers quoted $1,400 to $1,700 for the thermostat and temperature sensor of a 2017 Acadia at 59,400 miles, filed in December 2022.
• A 2020 Acadia with P0128 got two quotes, $1,600 and $2,200, with the temperature sensors and thermostat suspected, filed in November 2024.

So owners of these GM crossovers paid or were quoted $800 to $2,200. On this engine the sensor sits on the thermostat housing, so most of these bills include a new thermostat as well.

These crossovers can also show a Service Steering message with the code. GM’s bulletins tie it to a wrong coolant temperature reading and tell technicians to fix the P0128 first, not to replace the steering gear.

When a New Sensor Is Not the Fix

On the 3.6 V6 in 2021 Enclave, Traverse, Blazer, Acadia, XT5 and XT6 models, GM found that P0128, a dead temperature gauge or fans running after shutdown can come from the engine computer’s software.

The fix is an update GM pays 0.3 hour for, $39.60 at $132 an hour, and it is covered for 8 years or 80,000 miles. On these cars, ask the dealer for the update before you pay for a sensor or a thermostat.

The 2019 and 2020 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 with the 4.3 liter V6 can set a false P0128 too. GM’s fix is new software, and it tells technicians not to replace the thermostat or other parts unless the tests find a fault.

On some 2023 Ford Escape models with the 1.5 liter engine, an over-temperature warning under hard acceleration does not harm the engine, Ford told its dealers. A new cylinder head temperature sensor may not fix it.

For 2020 Explorer and Aviator models with the 3.0 EcoBoost, though, Ford’s fix for a check engine light or over-temperature warning with codes like P0128 is a new coolant temperature sensor and knock sensor.

Wiring can be the fault too. The owner of a 2021 Blazer replaced the sensor twice, from AutoZone and then from Chevrolet, and the gauge went back to cold both times.

The next step was $700 to redo the sensor’s wires to the engine computer, filed in June 2026. On a 2018 Acadia, P0128 came back less than 30 days after a new sensor and thermostat, filed in April 2026.

Signs of a Bad Coolant Temperature Sensor

The temperature gauge drops to cold or stops working, the cooling fans run at full speed or keep running after you park, and the check engine light comes on. On GM’s crossovers the A/C can stop blowing cold as well.

Luxury Auto Works, a repair shop in Austin, names the codes to ask about: P0128 for coolant below the thermostat’s regulating temperature, and P0117 or P0118 for a sensor reading out of range.

A bad thermostat looks a little different: the engine takes longer to warm up and the heater can blow cold, by the shop’s list. It puts a thermostat job at $200 to $600 in Austin.

Coolant Temperature Sensor Questions You Might Have

Where These Prices Come From

• Luxury Auto Works, Overheating Diagnosis and Thermostat Replacement, Austin, Texas, August 28, 2026.
• Jeep bulletin 07-005-23 (May 2023), GM bulletins 22-NA-054 (March 2022), 20-NA-167 (September 2020), 17-NA-158 (May 2017) and PIT5967 (January 2023), and Ford messages 49004 and 52162, on NHTSA’s website.
• Part prices, checked October 13, 2026: MoparPartsGiant 68217702AD and 68163849AC, and GMPartsGiant 12608814.
• Tekmetric, Average Auto Repair Labor Rates by State, June 30, 2026, and the owner complaints to NHTSA linked above, read October 13, 2026.

I hope this helps you pay for the part that is really broken, and not for one that is not. If you have any questions, you can email me at costcheckr@gmail.com.