Got a '09 that I gave to my daughter that doesn't make enough heat initially upon inspection. I thought it was taking awfully long for the coolant to get moving through the bottom hose so I replace the thermostat with a Robert Shaw balanced stat that's made to fit in this vehicle The car seems to take about the same amount of time for the bottom hose to start letting water through It is 30 to 38° out generally. I also noted that the coolant control valve up near the radiator only one hose was warm and the other was very lukewarm so I guess the three-way control valve is not able to open on its own or open enough looks like it's a motor attached to a gear that opens a port to let water come from the thermostat housing bypass through the control valve and up to the heater water pump between the brake actuator and the hydraulic part your foot touches the pump is mounted on the brake actuator bracket It is running but the hoses aren't hot enough like they are in my other two vehicles The coolant control valve I took off of another car that makes plenty of heat and the car still doing the same thing with the new thermostat and the control valve from another vehicle that when I put it back on the other vehicle the heat will run you out of the car. I'm kind of lost at what to do next at first I thought I had a radiator leak but after two days of filling and fooling around and what have you there in fact is no water coming out of the system It is full of antifreeze and that seems to be that no air pockets I can squeeze on the furthest hose away and bring the water right up the filler neck No problem. Another funny thing is is when I'm driving the car in the same temperature if I get on the highway and try to run two exits down to the sheets the red triangle will light up the green car on the MFD turns red and shows a temperature gauge through it and it just flashes on and off at certain times it doesn't stay that way then when I get to the sheets get out of the car and touch the hoses everything is still very cool The bottom hose is just starting to warm up and very little heat they'll come out of the center vents but over on the far edge left and right vents cold air is coming out but warm air is coming out of the middle but not warm like it should be. The air conditioning works wonderfully no matter the temperature the blower fan works at all positions and it seems my air is coming out the correct vents when selected even the damper door that goes from fresh to research seems to work fine this car is always had great heat to 5 years or so I've had it this just started as soon as I handed it to my girlfriend's daughter but these are the kind of people that can't beat themselves out of a wet paper bag at first I didn't think they knew how to turn the heat on so I went over and set it up for hot hot and hot and told them not to touch it except turn on the fan they've managed to do so and still have almost no heat when it's cold now when it gets up to 40° not so problematic. My other three cars here at the shop I'll make so much heat I have to turn it off after 5 minutes generally speaking course I'm dressed for the weather and whatnot. Anybody have any realistic ideas I can't imagine this would be a computer problem doesn't seem like it because everything's pretty basic and it's working including the air conditioning which is of no consequence in this weather.
I would chase the temp light problem first and the heater will likely follow. It appears the engine/radiator loop is standard with no restrictions caused by the Coolant Heat Storage System or the Heater/Heater Water Pump. Maybe the engine water pump is weak?
I was wondering similar but I also noticed that when I have the heater on the engine doesn't stay running like it does in my other three cars so this particular car while there's a call for heat and the car is on and ready the engine will shut off and not be anywhere near at temperature to provide any kind of credible heat in my other three vehicles that engine will not shut off as long as there's a call for heat and the heat's on whatever until it gets hot enough in the car that you're about to sweat to death then the engine will shut off then if you sit there and it gets cool and that thermistor in the car by your knee senses the temperature is not being up to snuff boom engine comes back on oh well back to the drawing board I guess the car has never had a coolant heat storage tank code and the pump does run at startup. I just find it kind of interesting about it not running till it gets hot enough on its own and this just all of a sudden started this car has had great heat for 5 years.
At first I thought the temp light and the triangle coming on was because of the big air bubble so I had a few days where the car wasn't being used so I just let it sit under the carport with the radiator cap off I can see no dripage no seepage nothing from any hose nothing and I just kept filling the radiator and for two days every time I'd come out to the radiator I'd put almost a quart of water in it. Then I'd come out 4 or 5 hours later and the water would be down in the neck where I couldn't see it and I would squeeze the furthest hose the way I can. And the water I could hear it sloshing around in the radiator but it wouldn't rise up in the neck so I pour more mix in bring it to the top of the neck and stop Walk away for 20 minutes come back and it'll be all the way down again I kept doing this for the couple of days that the car was off the road finally I got the coolant to stand at the filler neck right where the outlet hole is to go to the jug come back 4 hours later the water is barely moved but still visible in the neck in the 90 part of the neck which mine is plastic not metal. But I see no leaks nothing. But still no heat to speak of
If the engine was not overheating I might look at the damper on the heater core which blocks the airflow unless there is a call for heat. Or the ac amplifier/ecu itself,
Yeah I'm afraid I'm going to have to bust into some of that air box control business because with the car not calling for heat properly it seems like there's something not doing something correct and that business end of it.
No it doesn't seem like anything is ever getting hot enough to be any of that 200 and something degrees anywhere not on the block not even at the hot side of the back of the water pump before it hits the thermostat that gets relatively hot I wouldn't say $195°, but it's hot enough that I have to move my hand but on the other side of the thermostat man it takes 45 minutes of good fashion driving for that to even start to get warm with the old thermostat and the new one
