09-12-2024, 12:05 PM
(09-12-2024, 11:04 AM)Chiefsmom Wrote: I will have to get that checked. I bought it used, @ 30,000 miles, one owner and it did that from the get go. I've learned at least that even though you are buying a car in June, Test the heater!!!
I once bought a used car at 50K and everything seemed fine, until winter hit. If you let it idle a while, the car would warm up. Then, the more you drove, the colder it got in the cabin. Hours long commutes with no heat on the feet are not fun. But yeah, was just the thermostat. On that car, the thermostat was like $50 because its one of those electronic hybrid deals but cars with a standard thermostat... I think they're less than $10 in most cases. There were no codes or any other apparent issues with the vehicle or driveability.
Gas mileage slightly improved after the new thermostat was installed as well.
Another thing to look at, if the car has electronic climate control, there is probably a heater valve somwhere that controls the flow of coolant to the heater core. Mine are open by default - meaning full heat - but when one side of the valve stopped responding, for whatever reason the computer commanded the valves full closed, and I had no heat on the driver's side of the cabin. I got them to go again for a bit by ... beating on them with a hammer... but ultimate the valve needed to be replaced. This didn't happen until the car had 150K mi on it, though.
