I Wonder Whether I'll Ever Understand My Car or My Body. Anyone Else in the Same Boat? Part One
By Marsha
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
Midland, Michigan
January 25, 2019 10:51am CST
I took my car/van to be checked before it got very cold because it seems that the heater only works well when it's warmer out and not once it gets chilly. In the past, on the thirty degree days it seemed to warm up fairly quickly while on the colder days even after letting it sit to warm up and after the engine dial is showing it's warmer, it still takes what seems like forever for the inside to seem warm. Sometimes it takes until I get home for it to be warmer. I live about twenty minutes away from work.
Today, it was only eleven degrees when I left to exercise. I warmed my van up for about twenty minutes and it wasn't frigid inside like would be normal, but when we were done at planet fitness, my car was nicely warm in what seems like forever before I got back home. I could actually take off my gloves and hat and even my steering wheel was still warmer to the touch.
But, I can't plan on it being that way all the time. Especially when leaving work. I don't have a remote start so I sit in the car while it's warming up. I've been using an extra sweater to put over my lap since my coat isn't quite that long and that helps.
Anyone else have heaters that work well sometimes and other times not so much?
When I had it checked I was told nothing needed to be replaced. Someone here or in person told me maybe the thermostat wasn't opening up properly, but I don't know if it can open right some days while not doing it on other days?
6 people like this
7 responses
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
25 Jan 19
I guess it is moody then ,there seems to be no other explanation
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
25 Jan 19
I don't know. It could be because it is an older vehicle. But, if anything I expected it to take even longer today to warm up than it did yesterday when it was 28 outside.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
4 Feb 19
I just put a few more ounces into the coolant reservoir to see whether that help it out. If it does, then I will have to watch that again as maybe there is another hose or something that is old and needs to be replaced. If it doesn't help, maybe my heater or thermostat quit working after it was checked for that the last time.
I will have to watch and see.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
4 Feb 19
@MarshaMusselman We never had problems with the car heating, even with our 35 years old car.
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@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
4 Feb 19
@LadyDuck The older cars lasted a lot longer than the newer ones do now. We will have to monitor it to see what is the cause if I can determine it, that would be cheaper, but probably it won't be that easy,
At least with the warmer temps for today anyway, I won't be quite so cold as I was last week. I managed, I just took an extra sweater to put over my legs while driving, like a lap blanket or something.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71666)
• United States
26 Jan 19
I don't think that has ever happened in any of the vehicles I've had. I give my van 5 minutes at the most then I go. I never used to do that but it really is bad to run an engine with giving it time. So since my van is getting old and needs pampering I have been giving it the 5 minutes the past few months. I'm not very patient obviously 
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
26 Jan 19
I've heard differing opinions on how long to warm up a vehicle and even though some sources say it doesn't need to be done with the newer type engines, when it's colder out it's still a good practice to allow the fluids to warm up and flow through the system. That could take more than five minutes.
My mechanic says it's like running a marathon, you wouldn't hop out of bed and begin your run, you'd stretch and warm up first.
Maybe my van did better warming up later yesterday because I had it out already, but then, no, it was on the way home from our first outing that I realized it got nice and toasty inside.
Last night when I got out of work it seemed to take a long time for the dial to move of of the coldest setting, but I had to sit in the van and that makes it seem a lot longer.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71666)
• United States
26 Jan 19
@MarshaMusselman the mechanic my childrens father used to go to told him always run it for 15 minutes. My father in law told me 30 but he's a plumber not a mechanic I'm not listening to his advice that is a ton of gas to waste sitting there running for 30 minutes. In NY it's illegal to warm up our car without sitting in it I saw online about a year ago. As far as I know Pennsylvania doesn't have that law. When I take my get inspected Tuesday I will try to remember to ask him how long to let it warm up before driving it. If it's more then 10 minutes I'm not going to listen to the advice
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71666)
• United States
28 Jan 19
@MarshaMusselman that's true and I won't drive unless the whole windshield is cleared off as well. Frost on the window can be dangerous to drive with. We need to have the windshield totally clear to see the best.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
14 Feb 19
There are times my flat feels cold even with the heating on full
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
14 Feb 19
@MarshaMusselman glad you got a better balance or the house and worked out the coolant for the car
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
14 Feb 19
I find that too in my house, Arthur, but we don't keep the heat on full blast. We try to keep it around 70 in the day and 66 at night. Certain rooms seem colder than others. When sitting at my computer in the dinette, I normally have a blanket on my lap. When I'm in the living room on the recliner there is a blanket there I cover most of myself with as I'd rather be warmer.
But, what I'm talking about in this discussion isn't the heat in the house but the lack of heat in the car. Some days it seemed to work while other days it seemed to be on strike. I think I figured that the reservoir for the coolant just needed to be topped off to the line and it seems to work fine.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
14 Feb 19
Mine was better when they replaced a few hoses either last year or before winter began, but currently it seems to be helped when I keep the coolant reservoir up to the line. If I have to fill that more often than I should, then I might have to have it checked to make sure more hoses or something else isn't leaking.
It wasn't until someone asked about my coolant that I remembered to look and see how high it was. It wasn't very far down, but just enough to not work, I guess.
@whiteream (8567)
• United States
26 Jan 19
I hope you get everything fixed. I have never had anything like that happen.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
4 Feb 19
I'm going to try one more thing and that is to top off the coolant reservoir since it is down a very small amount. When I had that trouble before, I had a hose or two that needed to be replaced toward the back of the car. It worked fine after they fixed it until just recently.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35701)
• Canada
26 Jan 19
I only warm my car for about 5 minutes at the coldest temperatures -40! Then start out driving slowly, partly because the tires have sort of a flat spot at the temp. The heat starts coming better after starting to drive then running without moving it seems. Our vehicles are newer and they don't warm up inside until you are driving it seems.
But if yours is warming up sometimes better than others, then you would think there is something needing to be fixed.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38659)
• Midland, Michigan
28 Jan 19
I don't think mine warms up faster while driving it, but when driving it we get closer to our destination and then it seems like it's warming faster sometimes.
It could also be the age of the car, although I've had older vans that worked or warmed up faster than this one does.
1 person likes this
