I have a 2004 Dodge Intrepid. Just recently in the last few days I have noticed the heater is not working like it used to. Now when I pre heat my car before driving there is no heat coming from the heater vents. It is not until I have driven for a few miles before I start to feel heat. The odd part is when I stop driving such as waiting at a red light cold air replaces the warm air coming from the vents. I seem as if the heater is only blowing warm air when the car is in motion and the engine is running at a higher then idle speed. It has been extremely cold the last few days (-16 or so) but I have never had this problem during past winters. What do you think could be causing this problem and how can I fix it? I appreciate any help you can offer.
This sounds like your automatic climate control is starting to malfunction. Check to make sure your coolant is full, and temp is not fluctuating, and when your vehicle is warmed up, try using the low setting and feel for air temp. Is it warmer than if you turn it up? When at idle the vehicle is not producing heat the same as if you are driving, putting load on your engine and more air/fuel combustion means more heat, which is why you can feel heat while driving. Ideally you should feel heat as soon as the engine is warming up, getting hotter as it reaches peak temp of 190-210 degrees. You can try to make sure your water control valve is not blocked, and all electrical connections are secure. This will be located close to your firewall and connected to the coolant tubes that run into your firewall to your heater-core. Also use recirc (setting)to try to summon as much heat as possible, however ultimately, you may need to take you vehicle in for service. If it only warms when driving defrost will be an issue. Good luck.
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Also would like to add, if your coolant is not topped off, you could get vapor lock, where as an air bubble blocks the heater core, and you get no heat from heater, so the vehicle may over heat. I have personally witnessed this multiple times, where as topping the vehicle off whilst cool, squeezing the big radiator hoses a little to burp it, watching the coolant rise and fall from where the cap was removed, (and hopefully seeing bubbles, if not squeeze in little bursts), can also be the simple task to solve this type of problem.
Just check to make sure there is nothing leaking while the vehicle is running. NEVER REMOVE the radiator cap on a hot car!
This problem has gotten a big response, so thought I'd add to it.
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