Yesterday my 05 STR was sitting outside overnight and it was 30F degrees outside. It took 1/2 hour of driving for the engine to come up to temperature. The heater did start to blow warm air about 5 minutes into the trip and after 1/2 hours the car was reasonably warm but even while the HVAC system was in AUTO mode and just blowing the air on my legs it's still not all that warm. If I was living in Minn. I get the feeling I'd have to wear ski pants to drive this car in the winter. If you put your hand under the dash and feel the air coming out of the vent it's warm but never hot like it is on some of my other cars. I'd kind of like a blast of hot air on my legs while car is warming up.

So is this normal?

Thanks.

Bob S.

 

No that's not anywhere near normal. I've driven my non-R in -30C temps and had a nice toasty warm cabin at all times. Warm up period is about 5 minutes.

 

With the long up to temp time for the engine it sounds to me like the cooling system thermostat might be stuck open. That of course would make the heater anemic. The coolant was flushed a month ago per the JTIS procedure and there was nice hot air coming out of the upper dash vents at that time.

Bob S.

 

Way too long. With a stock thermie my STR does takes about 10 mins of street driving (maybe 5 if I were to cruise on the highway) to get up to operating temperture -- but I grandpa driver her until the needle sits dead center.

 

If that's not the problem and there is no air in the colling system (low coolant), suspect the HVAC itself. Mine would heat the cabin perfectly for the first 30 min or so. and then switch to cold. I would have to readjust the control to 10*C warmer than desired to get heat. Took the dealer four attempts to fix it, it was a sensor buried in the most inaccessible place.