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I have been banging my head on this one for a couple weeks and my searches are not turning up anything useful. 2012 Fusion Sport 3.5 AWD She overheats when climbing hills on the highway but cools down almost immediately after cresting the hill. I did the thermostat the other day and did find some rubber pieces stuck to the thermostat, similar to a tire tube type rubber. I've burped the system several times and she only drops coolant level when overheating. I'm going to replace the radiator and flush the system this weekend but not sure it will make any difference. I also purchased a vacuum filler so I will refill that way. No white smoke, no water in the oil, no power loss and ~200lbs across all 6. My brain keeps going 'water pump, water pump, water pump' but I'm not excited about digging that deep with so many projects going at once. Honestly, if the water pump ends up being the issue, I'm going to replace it with the whole engine since it's sitting over 200k. Thoughts?

https://studio.youtube.com/video/6GBuvB7g8E0/edit So watch the video to understand the dilemma I'm having. So basically this, the engine temp skyrockets but ONLY when the engine has been turned off for awhile. I've taken it to my local Ford Dealer and they fixed a leaking heater hose, vacuum filled the coolant system, checked to make sure the fans turned on, checked for operation of the thermostat and so far, everything turns up good. I have basically no clue as to what is doing this. Tends to happen after some spirited driving especially driving uphill with or without the A/C on. I can go driving for a good 10 mins, stop at the store for some snacks and the temp gauge will be pegged way up there but will drop as soon as the car is started. I'll be taking it back to my local Ford Dealer for yet another inspection but does anybody have any clue what is happening. I've gotten opinions from different mechanics ranging from it's normal since the car is offf and no longer circulating coolant to "literally no clue." I'm at my wits end here.

Just to get it out front I have not had any issues with this car until today. Bought the car new in 2013 and its only been oil changes, new tires, etc...the usual maintenance. It was between 90-95 degrees today and I drove the car to a local school car wash and waited about 20-25 minutes at idle with the A/C on, no issues. Afterward drove about a mile down the road to a fast food place and idled for about 10-15 minutes in the drive-thru when all of a sudden I smelled coolant and noticed steam from under the hood. I pulled out of line noticing that I had an overtemp caution on the dash and proceeded to park when I then got the advisory that engine power was reduced (meaning 0%, I guess) before I got to the spot and had to coast into it. Once I stopped I turned off the key and opened the hood at which time I notice what seemed to be quite a bit of coolant covering the rear passenger quadrant of the engine compartment. I could not see where it had come from and given the temperature of the engine and lack of tools and a jack couldn't troubleshoot. I left the car for about and hour or so to give it time to cool. Once I came back I tried to look for the source of the coolant but, again, without a jack and tools no luck, so I downloaded the trouble codes as follows: P1299, B1147, P018C, P0217, P0219, and U0159. After downloading the codes I cleared the codes and decided to start the car and see how it sounded. After leaving it running for a few minutes it sounded fine so I began to drive back home about 3-4 miles away. I got about halfway home when the temp gauge jumped but didn't get to "HOT" and no cautions or warnings so I pulled over and put coolant in the overflow. Since then I have driven the car home and subsequently about 30 minutes with no signs of leaking or overheating. If this was an old school cooling system I would say it overflowed out of the system but since the system is closed I'm confused as to why, how, and what happened. Any thoughts would be helpful.