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I have a 1992 Toyota tercel. Not sure if the heater has been working optimally or if i just haven't been running the car for that long
I normally stop for coffee after a 5-10 minute ride, then after about 30 minutes shut off (in Starbucks) i drive for another 10-15 minutes to the office. It has been very cold here in NY lately
I notice the far left face vent blows some heat after awhile, the center face vents blow air but not really hot, the far right face vents don't blow anything but after awhile i did notice some lukewarm heat. of course, if you have the control on face/feet it blows harder. i think i did notice heat coming out on the feet more than from the face vents
maybe i just didn't have the car running for that long but i wonder, if a car's engine runs well is the heater guaranteed to always work or can it go bad too?
I have a 1992 Toyota tercel. Not sure if the heater has been working optimally or if i just haven't been running the car for that long
I normally stop for coffee after a 5-10 minute ride, then after about 30 minutes shut off (in Starbucks) i drive for another 10-15 minutes to the office. It has been very cold here in NY lately
I notice the far left face vent blows some heat after awhile, the center face vents blow air but not really hot, the far right face vents don't blow anything but after awhile i did notice some lukewarm heat. of course, if you have the control on face/feet it blows harder. i think i did notice heat coming out on the feet more than from the face vents
maybe i just didn't have the car running for that long but i wonder, if a car's engine runs well is the heater guaranteed to always work or can it go bad too?
No, the heater core could go bad OR if the thermostat is stuck open could make the heater not work properly. My own car runs excellent, but has no thermostat. I barely get any heat at all, and it takes a long time to get it.
Does your car have a engine temperature gage? If so, check the temp after 10-15min.
It should be just below the mid point of the gage. If there is a temperature value, about 195F.
If you have a temp gage and assume it is broken (always reading low) or have low operating engine temp you can suspect that you thermostat is to blame.
This was the problem on my gf toyota corolla.
The thermostat is an easy fix. About $20 if you DIY.
the temp gauge is always reading low tho in traffic in warmer weather it will go up
i always keep the coolant above the full line. it's now down to "full" but it hasn't gone lower than that
no coolant leaks on the passenger side floor that i can see
does it affect the windshield defroster?
mechanic will be looking at it soon
it's hard for me to know if it's not working right. in the past when i drove 3 highway miles you felt hot air coming up but lately i am doing street driving. it gradually comes on but it's not like it used to be
slap on an hour's labor charge for a $20 item? normally he charges $40 (about half an hour's labor in NY) just to look at it but sometimes he won't charge
the check engine light came on around this time. the mechanic fixed it by adjusting things like the timing or idle. is it possible that has a bearing on this?
the check engine light came on around this time. the mechanic fixed it by adjusting things like the timing or idle. is it possible that has a bearing on this?
I don't think so. It does sound like a bad thermostat.
Let me suggest you have your mechanic change the upper radiator hose at least, I'd do both, and the thermostat, and put in correct Toyota brand anti-freeze. I prefer to mix this with distilled water but have not had much luck getting pro mechanics to use distilled water, for whatever reason. Like it's un-manly or something.
My point being that this would make the job more worth doing and would take care of some other "stuff" in the general vicinity of the thermostat.
Your driving cycle is borderline abusive to the car, worst thing you can do is take a bunch of short trips with the thermostat stuck open so the engine does not even sort-of warm up properly.
You really need to get this car out on the open road at least weekly, for some "soot-blowing" operation...
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thanks
