Last night I noticed a problem with my heating system. It gets pretty cold here in Canada with sub zero temps at nights. When I turn the heater on it blows hot air only when I drive. I was waiting for my wife in front of the store yesterday idling in neutral and after a minute it started blowing cold air. I had to start driving to get the heat to come back. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Thanks.

 

It is just the design of the car....

 

No, it should be warm at idle too. Compared to you , we were warm this morning at 20 F. I timed the heater out of curosity today and it took two minutes for the fan to start, although it blew air that was not warm. The warm air came in about one more minute. Mine will blow warm air at idle or otherwise.

Perhaps the thermostat is bad. Other cooling system problems are possible. If an air flap-door were not opening, it would probably stay cool while driving too. If it is under waranty, let the dealer fix it.

Good luck.

 

this is happening to my car EXACTLY...its been happening for a while now...its not necessarily because your driving its because your reving the engine...even if you sit in neutral or park if you step on the gas it will heat up again

no idea why but i need to get it checked before my warranty goes out

 

OK the problem is fixed. I had a small leak in one of my hoses. I refilled the coolant and it seemed to get rid of the problem. it still doesn't blow as hot as it should but I got warm air coming out at idle. I will try to bleed my radiator to see if I can put more coolant in. I'm hoping this will increase the temperature of the air.

 

Good info, btw which hose was it so others might be able to check the hose?

 

yea could you possible take a picture or something so i can fix this myself maybe.?? please oh please

 

ii am having same problem in canada.... the car heating ventilation system SUCKSS!!! no seriously it sucks majorly! I'am never buying another G untill they fix this problem

 

The leaky hose was actually my fault. I had some noise coming from the engine which I thought was due to bad AC belt tensioner bearing but turned out to be my transmission synchros. Any way in order to take of the tensioner I removed the hose right next to the AC tensioning bolt (left of the bolt where metal tube meets a rubber hose). When I assembled everything back together I forgot to put the clamp back on the hose and the coolant was slowly leaking out. Adding the coolant helped a bit and I started getting warm air at idle. Today I bled my radiator and now I get hot air coming out. I initally suspected something more serious so I'm kinda relieved it was as easy as topping up the coolant. I guess those of you having similar problems get your cooling system checked for leaks, clogged up radiator or air in your system.

 

same thing occurs in my GMC Yukon Denali

 

^ listen for any gurgling sound in your cooling system you can hear in the car interior. Also look at your upper rad hose to see if it is collapsed. I had that problem and it turns out the rad cap was defective.

 

I noticed my car taking forever to warm up in the mornings. Sometimes 20-30 mins of driving to even feel the heat. So I checked my coolant and found that it was low. What coolant brand/type do you suggest I add? Is there a specify one that's better for our cars?

 

I think all coolant is the same, I just used one from Nissan. The fluid level in the excess container should be lower on a cold engine and a bit higher when warm. There are markings in the container for low and high.

 

Also A Thing To Be Aware Of Is The Rad Cap Going Bad And The Top Hose Sucking Tight If You Have This Problem Get A New Rad Cap!

 

I had the same problem for me there was air pockets in my lines. I performed a coolant flush using nissan coolant and my heat works fine now..