Heater takes a while to get hot.

Hi All,
Now in the colder months in Australia I have noticed that my 1995, 1.5
litre, 4 Door, EG, Honda Civic heater takes quite a while to get hot.
Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to help the heater warm
up sooner. I have notice that the temp gauge wont move from cold until
at least 10mins worth of driving (not that I dont mind the car running
cool but I keep freezing in the morning)
Regards,
Michael.

MikeLikes wrote:

Hi All,
Now in the colder months in Australia I have noticed that my 1995, 1.5
litre, 4 Door, EG, Honda Civic heater takes quite a while to get hot.
Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to help the heater warm
up sooner. I have notice that the temp gauge wont move from cold until
at least 10mins worth of driving (not that I dont mind the car running
cool but I keep freezing in the morning)
Regards,
Michael.
---------------------------------------------------------
With the temps reaching 95+(F) today it is hard
to think that someone esle is freezing.

My 1991 1.5 Civic takes aboiut that time to start blowing hot air.
On rally cold, below 20F (~-10C) I let the car idle for 5 miniutes or
so.
More of a ssafety issue, I am not willing to drive with frost on the
inside of the windshield. I change the oil more freqeuently at 2/3
the suggested milage.

Terry

"MikeLikes" > wrote in
ups.com:

> Hi All,
> Now in the colder months in Australia I have noticed that my 1995, 1.5
> litre, 4 Door, EG, Honda Civic heater takes quite a while to get hot.
> Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to help the heater warm
> up sooner. I have notice that the temp gauge wont move from cold until
> at least 10mins worth of driving (not that I dont mind the car running
> cool but I keep freezing in the morning)
> Regards,
> Michael.
>


Replace the thermostat.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

MikeLikes wrote:
> Hi All,
> Now in the colder months in Australia I have noticed that my 1995, 1.5
> litre, 4 Door, EG, Honda Civic heater takes quite a while to get hot.
> Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to help the heater warm
> up sooner. I have notice that the temp gauge wont move from cold until
> at least 10mins worth of driving (not that I dont mind the car running
> cool but I keep freezing in the morning)
> Regards,
> Michael.

-------------------

When it's -40 F, I start the Honda, brush off the snow, and drive gently
to the road, then to the secondary highway, then to the main highway.
It's about three minutes to the main highway, and the heater is getting
toasty and the guage is at the normal position.

Make sure you don't put any tap water (Hondacide) in your Honda when you
change the thermostat, and check the reservoir the day after you get the
thermostat replaced.

'Curly'

That is not directly related to your issue but my 91 Accord doesn't really
seem to warm up in winter unless i'm doing city driving, on the highway the
temp gauge stays at cold and the air inside is coming out kinda cold too,
even when the heater is at max. Of course it's not a problem when you live
in Texas but I got kinda chilly on my last 4000 miles winter round trip to
Canada! When I'm in real winter weather, everything is normal when i'm in
heavy traffic or in the city, a lot of red lights, makes the temp gauge
raise a little with nice warm air coming out, but as soon as I pick up some
speed it falls back to "Cold" and the air coming in the cabin is not warm at
all. I am curious what causes that... Even if I will probably not fix it.

RAT

"MikeLikes" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi All,
> Now in the colder months in Australia I have noticed that my 1995, 1.5
> litre, 4 Door, EG, Honda Civic heater takes quite a while to get hot.
> Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to help the heater warm
> up sooner. I have notice that the temp gauge wont move from cold until
> at least 10mins worth of driving (not that I dont mind the car running
> cool but I keep freezing in the morning)
> Regards,
> Michael.
>

The place to start is replacing the thermostat. It is cheap and easy
and it would definitely explain the cold running. Running the engine
too cold all the time isn't good.



On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 02:02:02 GMT, "Rattus The RAT"
> wrote:

>That is not directly related to your issue but my 91 Accord doesn't really
>seem to warm up in winter unless i'm doing city driving, on the highway the
>temp gauge stays at cold and the air inside is coming out kinda cold too,
>even when the heater is at max. Of course it's not a problem when you live
>in Texas but I got kinda chilly on my last 4000 miles winter round trip to
>Canada! When I'm in real winter weather, everything is normal when i'm in
>heavy traffic or in the city, a lot of red lights, makes the temp gauge
>raise a little with nice warm air coming out, but as soon as I pick up some
>speed it falls back to "Cold" and the air coming in the cabin is not warm at
>all. I am curious what causes that... Even if I will probably not fix it.
>
>RAT
>
>"MikeLikes" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>> Hi All,
>> Now in the colder months in Australia I have noticed that my 1995, 1.5
>> litre, 4 Door, EG, Honda Civic heater takes quite a while to get hot.
>> Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to help the heater warm
>> up sooner. I have notice that the temp gauge wont move from cold until
>> at least 10mins worth of driving (not that I dont mind the car running
>> cool but I keep freezing in the morning)
>> Regards,
>> Michael.
>>
>

"Rattus The RAT" > wrote
in :

> That is not directly related to your issue but my 91 Accord doesn't
> really seem to warm up in winter unless i'm doing city driving, on the
> highway the temp gauge stays at cold and the air inside is coming out
> kinda cold too, even when the heater is at max. Of course it's not a
> problem when you live in Texas but I got kinda chilly on my last 4000
> miles winter round trip to Canada! When I'm in real winter weather,
> everything is normal when i'm in heavy traffic or in the city, a lot
> of red lights, makes the temp gauge raise a little with nice warm air
> coming out, but as soon as I pick up some speed it falls back to
> "Cold" and the air coming in the cabin is not warm at all. I am
> curious what causes that... Even if I will probably not fix it.



Replace the thermostat. You list ALL the classic symptoms.
>

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Thanks for the info ppl.
I will most likely change the thermostat as it may be staying slightly
open. I got a price today for around $60AU including the gasket so it
wont hurt the pocket to much.
Regards,
Michael.

"TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
...
> "Rattus The RAT" > wrote
> in :
>
>> That is not directly related to your issue but my 91 Accord doesn't
>> really seem to warm up in winter unless i'm doing city driving, on the
>> highway the temp gauge stays at cold and the air inside is coming out
>> kinda cold too, even when the heater is at max. Of course it's not a
>> problem when you live in Texas but I got kinda chilly on my last 4000
>> miles winter round trip to Canada! When I'm in real winter weather,
>> everything is normal when i'm in heavy traffic or in the city, a lot
>> of red lights, makes the temp gauge raise a little with nice warm air
>> coming out, but as soon as I pick up some speed it falls back to
>> "Cold" and the air coming in the cabin is not warm at all. I am
>> curious what causes that... Even if I will probably not fix it.
>
>
>
> Replace the thermostat. You list ALL the classic symptoms.

What's the disadvantage of not replacing it? I mean this car did 40,000
miles (at least) without it

RAT

"Rattus The RAT" > wrote in
:

>
> "TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Replace the thermostat. You list ALL the classic symptoms.
>
> What's the disadvantage of not replacing it? I mean this car did 40,000
> miles (at least) without it
>


Greatly accelerated engine wear; increased fuel consumption; increased
sludge formation; PCV system clogging; emissions-test failures on high HCs.

The engine will run rich, which will wash oil off the cylinder walls and
lead to increased piston ring wear and diluted lubricating oil, as well as
reducing catalytic converter life.

A bad thermostat is a very bad thing.

The thermostat is a very simple and easy thing to replace when you're
draining the coolant, which should be done every two years, even with "Long
Life" coolant. And it's cheap. An OEM thermostat is less than $20. Having
it replaced by a garage should be less than $100. Never use aftermarket
thermostats.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/