Hi all,

I have been searching here, there, and everywhere for any information in regards to my 2008 dodge grand caravan sxt 3.8l temperature gauge bouncing. This started a few months (Year?) back and I have been monitoring since then. It is doing the following:

Once it starts to warm up, it will do so, but will bounce between 1/4 to slightly below, to above a 1/4. It will continue to heat up till half way, then it will sometimes bounce from 1/2 to 1/4 and back up again. The kicker to this now, is that sometimes (rarely) it will go the opposite and bounce or rise to 3/4. When I catch this, I turn on the heater and by that time it instantly drops to 1/2 or sometimes even slightly lower. After that it does not happen for a while.

Thing I have done

Replaced Thermostat
Coolant drain, Clean, and drain /fill again with spec fluid (g-05 HOAT)

There has been white smoke coming out of the exhaust (not a lot and only on cold / chilly days..) since we have owned the vehicle. This started a couples years back. It does consume oil, but not sure if those are related. Oil looks normal, no milkiness or anything out of sorts.

Has anyone ran into this before?