Car keeps overcooling (Heater not working as well) (vehicles, 2011, idle)
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I have a Honda Civic 8th gen 2006 - 2011 and my heater is not working properly. I am honestly just fed up at this point, I feel like my heater will never go back blowing hot air like before! These are things that my mechanic has done! (Im blowing a lot of money on parts!)
I changed the thermostat (First time)
I burped the system and put the car on a incline on a lift
I changed the thermostat again (This time with a aftermarket one)
Burped the system at a incline with the lift
When he changed the thermostat last he made run the engine and than feel the bottom hose saying its nice and hot now (after reving for about 1 min). Today again same issue! My car heater just does not get hot like it used to anymore! At idle the car goes from halfway point to 4 or 5 bars and the heat obv is not as hot only when I start driving the engine temp goes back to the middle and the heat gets hotter. I told my mechanic this and he told me its normal and just to rev the engine or recirculate the heat to make the car hot. Its -5C (23F) outside. MY CAR NEVER DID THIS BEFORE! NEVER! I used to turn on the heat even on the highway at full fan speed and my legs would be burning sometimes! Now its changed..
I honestly don't know what to do! I have no idea what it is.
Is my mechanic right? Is it just normal for a car to do that?
Some vehicles have a valve that diverts coolant through the heater core when it's needed.
There's also a little motor that controls the blend door in the dash. Are you sure the blend door is moving freely? This part went bad in my Element, causing no heat.
Last edited by southernnaturelover; 01-12-2024 at 06:59 AM..
Some vehicles have a valve that diverts coolant through the heater core when it's needed.
There's also a little motor that controls the blend door in the dash. Are you sure the blend door is moving freely? This part went bad in my Element, causing no heat.
Yeah but this would cause the engine temperature to drop at idle?
Step #1 for me is to plug in a OBD2 scanner than does live data, and pull up the coolant temp reading. Is the coolant temp getting up to 190-210 degrees?
Identify the heater hoses going into the firewall. Are they hot to the touch with the engine warmed up? Can you feel both hoses are about the same temp (return hose might be a tad cooler).
It could also be a blend door issue. The blend door is what regulates the heated air from the heater core and the cooled air from the A/C. Some of these are cable actuated and some are electronic. It's possible the blend door motor has failed (or the cable has snapped) and the door is stuck on the cooler side of things.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I agree with the blend door. I have seen a clogged heater core where the hose coming out feels hot but it's flowing only through a small passage, so the core doesn't get hot enough to heat the air passing through it. My first simple test would be to remove the heater hoses from the engine sides, and run water from a hose and see how freely it flows. https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdv...d_heater_core/
Your heater is not a fan blowing across the hot engine block.
It's a little radiator thing that has fins to increase the surface area of the heat from hot coolant and blow it into the cabin of your car.
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