Heater does not perform well in cold temperatures

N

nizzy1115

Member
:
2013 CX-5 Sport
It was -17*F on my way to work this morning. My car is garage kept so it started decently warm. It took 25 minutes into my commute for the blue light to come off. I had a brief 5 sec stop at a stop light and the blue light came back on and remained on for the rest of my 50 minute total drive. Of course since the blue light was on the heater was barely pumping out heat. It was maybe 50*F inside the cabin at best. Worst performing heater/car in cold temps I have ever driven.

Anyone else drive in cold temps able to chime in on how your car behaves?
 
Not a fair comparison since I have a 2014 with the 2.5, but mine started fine this morning (-22F) and heated up nicely to toasty warm in just 2 miles.
 
hmm thanks, that is interesting to note still. The 2.5 isn't that much different than the 2.0.
 
nizzy1115 said:
hmm thanks, that is interesting to note still. The 2.5 isn't that much different than the 2.0.
Click to expand...

Yes but the GT has automatic air so maybe a different heating system? What level is your fan on, a previous poster suggested 2 as higher faster air in cold temp may not allow enough heat transfer. Have you considered blocking most of the radiator as big trucks do with covers and new cars do with active shutters?
 
I had put it on full blast as my windows started icing over on level 1. Normally it had been fine, even all last winter without issues, but if I recall this was the coldest I drove it in.
 
My GT worked great. My old car had an issue with what is called a "blend door" - this is in the dash and it directs heat into the car via the vents. Mine was stuck so I would get no heat. Either way, sounds like you need to have it checked - after 5 minutes you should be getting heat.
 
My CX-5 sport 6 speed seems to heat up fine. If I let it warm up for about 10 minutes with the heater off, I'll have heat after a couple of miles of driving. Its been zero here the past couple of days.
 
nizzy1115 said:
It was -17*F on my way to work this morning. My car is garage kept so it started decently warm. It took 25 minutes into my commute for the blue light to come off. I had a brief 5 sec stop at a stop light and the blue light came back on and remained on for the rest of my 50 minute total drive. Of course since the blue light was on the heater was barely pumping out heat. It was maybe 50*F inside the cabin at best. Worst performing heater/car in cold temps I have ever driven.

Anyone else drive in cold temps able to chime in on how your car behaves?
Click to expand...

I have posted some info here.

One of two things are happening.
1. I have found that the 2.0 is just so efficient that it doesn't create enough heat to keep the engine warm at these temps. This is most notable around town. It will struggle to heat up beyond 140 degrees (130 is where the blue light is on) if you are running the heater full blast. I have solved this problem by covering 75% of the grill up, similar to what truckers do.

2. Your thermostat could actually be bad. The dealer can figure this out by hooking up to diagnostics and monitoring the heat at the radiator. If the radiator gets significantly hot before the engine is at 175 degrees....you have a bad thermostat.
 
nizzy1115 said:
It was -17*F on my way to work this morning. My car is garage kept so it started decently warm. It took 25 minutes into my commute for the blue light to come off. I had a brief 5 sec stop at a stop light and the blue light came back on and remained on for the rest of my 50 minute total drive. Of course since the blue light was on the heater was barely pumping out heat. It was maybe 50*F inside the cabin at best. Worst performing heater/car in cold temps I have ever driven.

Anyone else drive in cold temps able to chime in on how your car behaves?
Click to expand...
agree, worst heater in any car I've ever owned! Takes forever and then not very warm!
 
This thread is from 6 years ago and references a 2014 2.0 vehicle.
Yours is the first complaint I've ever heard about the heater.
 
Yeah we have a 2014 and 2019. The gen 1 took forEVA to warm up. The gen2 does it quite quickly.
 
In cold weather, I have to drive aggressively for the temp gauge to reach normal. Then if if the vehicle idles for a while, the temp gauge drops.
 
Freedom55 said:
In cold weather, I have to drive aggressively for the temp gauge to reach normal. Then if if the vehicle idles for a while, the temp gauge drops.
Click to expand...
Maybe your front grill radiator shutters are jammed or malfunctioning. You might want to check down there for leaf/road debris?
 
Below freezing, it takes about 5 minutes of normal driving to get the blue light to turn off for my ‘13 2.0L. Another 5 minutes for the cabin to actually warm up. I finally got a cheap seat warmer cover to hold me over during that time period LOL. It was never a problem in FL but the $15 warmer helps get me through N Alabama’s cold snaps.
 
RedBaron said:
Maybe your front grill radiator shutters are jammed or malfunctioning. You might want to check down there for leaf/road debris?
Click to expand...
It could also be a faulty thermostat that doesn't close completely when cold. I'll talk to my dealer.
 
ruthrj said:
Below freezing, it takes about 5 minutes of normal driving to get the blue light to turn off for my ‘13 2.0L. Another 5 minutes for the cabin to actually warm up. I finally got a cheap seat warmer cover to hold me over during that time period LOL. It was never a problem in FL but the $15 warmer helps get me through N Alabama’s cold snaps.
Click to expand...
Do you have a link to the seat warmer you have?
 
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