I have a 2006 Saturn ion and the coolant light will not shut off. If I manually shut it off, it will flip right back on on the dash. The temperature gauge seems to be progressively getting worse with The car overheating and as soon as I turn on the heater and let it run for a minute it will cool it down. Is this a symptom of a bad thermostat or a thermostat going bad?
if anyone has any other suggestions of what it may be they’d be much appreciated thank you

 

Is there coolant in it?
have you had it checked for codes?
thermostat usually trips the check engine light. Coolant on the dash means you're low.

Check for leaks also.

 

yes have checked for leaks and coolant level is where it’s suppose to be. No codes

 

Coolant light is probably due to a faulty sensor in the resevoir then. Quite common.

As far as overheating, could be temp sensor. Could be thermostat sticking. Or worse case water pump is taking a crap.
Rare case would be a slight clog forming

 

Don't forget to check your radiator cooling fans.