Interior, heater blower - 2009 SL

[DotsB]

I was wondering how much air flow other 2009 owners get when mode is set to floor or bottom while heating the interior of the car during cold months?

In mine, when I have airflow through the dash vents with blower on high there's a high output of air flow and sound of airflow is loud. Once I switch the mode to floor or feet, with blower still set on high, flow output is significantly less where you can barely feel air coming out of the blower, yet you can still hear that the blower loud so air is still moving fast. Is this normal for the lower floor vent?

[DotsB]

50+ views of my post and no other 2009 owner can reach their hand down to the floor board to do a simple comparison of the airflow velocity output (how hard does the air blow) between the lower vent with the upper (front) dash vents, while switching between these two "Modes"?

I would think the HVAC system is the same in the S, SL & LE. Meanwhile, my legs and feet are freezing this winter since the air flow coming out from the floor vent is wussy.

[denviola]

I have plenty of airflow at the lower heater outlets, possibility that your heater doors or actuators may be hanging up somewhere. I'm in Pennsylvania and appreciate the powerful HVAC system in my 09. Check in with the dealer, and maybe try another on the lot for comparison. You probably have already done this, but make sure floor mats or other accessories are not blocking the air flow. Added aftermarket winter mats to mine and had to trim them a bit.

[gotbst05]

i have an 06 and my airflow is not quite has high at the feet as it is at the vents. i was reading in the owner's manual that in certain "modes" the level of output on the floor differs. it was found under the "ATC" section. i believe it was on page 4-23 (sad that i can spit out the page #). could be different for your manual.

[Macsleuth]

think I have the same issue, will check air flow tomorrow.Just remembered my feet feel cold too!

[DotsB]

I have a service appointment tomorrow at the dealership to hopefully resolve this issue.

Is it possible a dirty interior air filter would restrict airlow to the floor vents? Only 6600 mi and I'm not located in the desert. It would seem strange to me restriction would only affect the floor vents when all over vents are free flowing and strong.

[gnats02]

So what was the outcome? I hate cold feet.

[DotsB]

Dealer said the floor vents are operating as designed. The vent opening is small and instead of blowing directly down to the feet ,floor vent airflow points more towards the shins and knees. They showed me the percentage of air flow per vent from a page out of in the service manual where airflow is distributed to the floor, dash, upper dash and back seat vents even though mode is set to floor vent. There is no setting where airflow is concentrated only to the floor. If you look at the service manual under HVAC you can see the percentage of airflow how heat is distributed through out the vehicle. In a nutshell the service tech agreed with me that, overall ,it wasn't efficient for warming only feet.

[Hmason]

Interesting. My '09 SL keeps my feet nice and warm even in single digit temperatures. Must be my nice warm socks from Costco.