What isnormal coolant operating temperature rangefor the Cobalt 2.2L engine?

I recently purchased an '07 Cobalt LT for my son and was driving it in rush-hour traffic. The coolant temperature routinely reached 217-221 deg. F. When I got home, I let it idle in the driveway to see when the electric cooling fan was cycling. Itcycles on at the above temp.until the coolant reaches ~200 deg. F. Is this normal? Seems a bit high to me. Most engine thermostats open between 195-205 Deg. F

It was not a hot day. The air temp was 70 deg. F and I was moving 20-30 mph. Not very severe driving conditions. I then turned on the A/C. Interestingly, it ran cooler (~205 deg. F). I suppose this is due to the second (A/C condenser) cooling fan turning on with the A/C.

I would think that cycling up to 220 F frequently would be detrimental to the engine long-term.

pstokes in H-Town

No, thats a fairly normal running temp. Late model cars generally run between 190-225 routinely without any damage. Any less than that and you start getting PCM problems.

Mine runs at 185-190. Yours sounds like it is running a bit hotter than usual.

Just got my 08 last week.

So far, with air temps running between 35-50 degrees, she's been running around 195.

Don't think I've seen over 200 yet.

my 06 runs anywhere between 190 and 200

my 05 runs between 185-200 and its a rare 200. so it does seem hot

You live in texas? That's to be expected. Just watch the temp guage and make sure you're not going into the red.