driving along the other day everything was ok
then temperature gauge shot up and red warning light came on
panicking i stopped straight away then checked the water, the levels were ok so i jumped back in and started off again, the temperature gauge was showing normal after half hour the same happened again, checked water levels and again it was ok, it has happened a few times since and once i stop and restart the engine the temperature gauge shows normal, when the gauge goes to the top both fans kick in, this is normal i hope
any ideas please
2005 freelander 1.8

 

You can't make expensive decisions based on the gauge. Borrow or rent or buy an OBDII scanner that can show live data, like an Ultra Gauge. You can see the digital value for the coolant temp and what it is doing. This may be a lot different that what you think is going on.