No heat when the vehicle in idle. (2006 m35x)

[valerka]

Hi all,

this is the first winter that I have the pleasure of having my M. As it is getting colder in Canada, I have notice that when the vehicle is idling there is no heat coming out of the vents, it's only starts to heat up when in motion.

Any idea as to what the problem might be, I also do not want to take it to the dealers at this time as I am out of the bumper to bumper warranty.

Thanks in advance!

[Shinobi326]

I had a similar issue in my Audi A4 before I got this M. It was a heater core issue and I had to get a new one + a new thermostat.

so my theories are:

1) Heater core is clogged2) thermostat failure3) Waterpump issue (sometimes you have an issue in the coolant system)

If it's a minor heater core clog issue an auto repair place can sometimes get it cleaned out themselves and reinstall it. They tried with mine but couldn't get it flushed out for some reason.

[valerka]

And I guess this sort of issue will not be covered by a power train warranty ):

[Alphax]

My M wont blow until the engine is heated up. I was assuming it was designed that was to prevent from just blowing icecold air on us. No heat until its actually heated air. Are you sure its just a cold engine block and as you drive its heating up then out comes the heat? or are you stopping warmed up at idle and its shutting down.

[antzrus]

My M wont blow until the engine is heated up. I was assuming it was designed that was to prevent from just blowing icecold air on us. No heat until its actually heated air. Are you sure its just a cold engine block and as you drive its heating up then out comes the heat? or are you stopping warmed up at idle and its shutting down.

Ditto here. The heater doesn't even start blowing until the engine is heated to a certain point. Thereafter it works very nicely; even in idle.

[tigerclaws1318]

For any car the heater won't blow hot air until the engine coolant temperature gets some heat to it. Coolants flows into the heater core as a fan blows air off the core. If you got cold coolant flowing of course your gonna get cold air coming out the vents. Just give it a few minutes for the car to warm-up before using the heater.

[blfolson]

This is kinda silly to me

My M heat doesn't come on till about 10 minutes after im driving.

How the hell am i suppose to defrost my windows? ( some one please explain)

I took it in to have this checked out and the dealer said it was a bad blower motor, which they replaced.

They made no mention of the delayed activation to coincide with the rise in coolant temp.

Since then it works but as mentioned above only about 10 minutes after the cars been running.

My Lincoln (which is also an 06) turns the heat on at start and its not hot but enough to defrost the windows in a couple of minutes.

[qship96]

If you want fan to blow air before coolant gets warm just manually adjust fan speed, but expect cold air to blow from dash vents til coolant gets hot.Read your owners manual hvac system operation for more details.

[blfolson]

If you want fan to blow air before coolant gets warm just manually adjust fan speed, but expect cold air to blow from dash vents til coolant gets hot.Read your owners manual hvac system operation for more details.

Thx for the input!

Something must be still wrong with my system.

No matter how i adjust the fan, the blower doesn't come on until 10 minutes or so. i guess i should have mentioned that....sorry

I have reviewed that manual before posting


Modified by blfolson at 7:55 PM 12/5/2009

[valerka]

Ok, here is the example of the problem I have:

Even after driving for lets say 30 min, the engine is all warmed up and blowing hot, but once I stop and idle in place, after about a minute or so it starts blowing cold air.

I would most definitely understand that the vehicle would not produce hot air until the engine gets nice and toasty.

[tmena]

i thought i was crazy but i have the exact same problem... went to the dealer over the weekend and they gave me this new part

MOTOR ASSY-BLOWER W/ 27225-JK60B

Still dont work... going back to get the bluetooth upgrade installed and ask why my fan still dont blow... basically same problem as the rest of you all

get in the car.. try to just have the fan to blow (regardless if its cold air ) but im not getting anything until i drive for about 15-20 mins

[svard75]

Very strange indeed. I would think it's something to do with the thermostat. The thermostat is set to open only when the coolant temp reaches whatever the thermostats rating is. Some cars are 90 deg. I could see this being an issue if you are driving there is more load on the car and therefore the coolant becomes warmer=warmer air from heating system. If the thermostat is stuck open when you're idling (and let's say you have another inherent engine problem and the rad fan is constantly on) the coolant quickly cools down but the thermostat can't close to warm it up again. What is your cars Liters per 100kmS reading?

Stop somewhere and open to hood of your car. Take a look in the coolant overflow box and see if you can see some coolant flowing into it and your radiator fan is constantly running.

btw I'm not a mechanic so don't take this as the reason I'm just speculating out loud here.

I don't think it's a heater core leak though because they would have coolant in the car every morning and depending on the size of the leak they could even have it spraying out the vents :O

[valerka]

I just checked and the my coolant level is pretty low, I will top it up and see if that helps.

[svard75]

You missunderstood. I don't think it's the level of the coolant but rather the thermostat that is stuck in the open position. You can tell without taking it to a mechanic because a cold engine uses more gas. Check your L/100km. I do city/hwy combined and get around 15.1l\100 for the M35X.

M

[blfolson]

You missunderstood. I don't think it's the level of the coolant but rather the thermostat that is stuck in the open position. You can tell without taking it to a mechanic because a cold engine uses more gas. Check your L/100km. I do city/hwy combined and get around 15.1l\100 for the M35X.

M

I would think if you has a open thermostat the engine would not get up to operating temperature easily.

Once it reached operating temperature, it would over heat due to the inability to hold fluid in the radiator for cooling.

Either way i would think the blower would engage once you turned the fan on and up?

The thermostat malfunction would just prevent you from getting warm to hot air?

I really get the feeling its not something mechanical at all but rather electrical.

Mine didnt always do this. In fact i remember it started when it was cold one morning and i turn the defrost on and turned the fan to high. as soon as i did that it went to high then the blower turn off. It reengaged after some time but wouldnt respond to me input at start up anymore.
Modified by blfolson at 12:44 PM 12/6/2009

[tmena]

blfolson,

I got the same exact problem to the T and agree with you 100 % its not that the actual cooling system that is malfunctioning its something to do with the actual climate control. I am going back to the dealer on wednesday and will let you guys know what i hear from them.

I have had a bad thermostat on my old maxima and i know the symptoms which you guys are describing and to back upblfolson - its not a bad thermostat - in my opinion...

want to thank everyone for their opinions to help us pin point the problem but i honestly think only the dealer would know...
Modified by tmena at 1:54 PM 12/6/2009

[svard75]

tmena good luck with that and let us know. It's always good to know what causes these weird conditions!

Cheers!

[LEXKYM45]

Check your coolant level as you said it was low. I've had the same problem with other vehicles and once the coolant was filled to proper level , it worked fine.

[tkeskic]

I have not seen this issue in my 2006 M35x;I will try and see if I can duplicate it, its -28 degrees celsius here right now; o it should be easy today or tuesday to duplicate it...

tk

[valerka]

Well it worked, I had put aproximately 1 L of coolant in to the system, and it seems to have solved the problem.

Thanks all for youe help and input.

[qship96]

Now you MUST figure out why your coolant was low to begin with.......it can only be low due to a leak somewhere if it was initially filled to the correct level.

[blfolson]

glad to hear you solved your problem

My engine coolant level is exactly where it should be. confirmed by myself and the dealership who installed a new blower motor last week.

Still have to problem though

[ArbitrageMan]

The problem of a car that gets colder when its at idle in the winter is often caused by a faulty thermostat. The thermostat is opening too much, and/or too soon.

Normally, when the car is cold the thermostat wont open very much to allow for the engine to reach operating temperature. If the thermostat is opening too much, the engine may reach operating temperature when its generating power (i.e. moving forward), but at idle the engine is producing very little power, and also very little heat, and so it cools down.

[rsg123]

My car doesn't start blowing air until about 4-5 minutes after I start driving when it is very cold outside. I appreciate not having freezing cold air blown at me, and I have always thought this was a feature rather than a problem. In the summer, the vents turn on very quickly.

[szh]

My car doesn't start blowing air until about 4-5 minutes after I start driving when it is very cold outside. I appreciate not having freezing cold air blown at me, and I have always thought this was a feature rather than a problem. In the summer, the vents turn on very quickly.

This is indeed how Infiniti's have been doing their thing for many, many years now.

Z

[blfolson]

This is indeed how Infiniti's have been doing their thing for many, many years now.

Z

The challenge is how to defrost your car when the blower will not engage for 15 minutes?

I can turn on defrost and turn the fan up to high but it will NOT engage up to 15-20 minutes later.

So i have to come out in the morning, 20 minuted before hand, to start the car and let it run to hopefully get the defrost to engage.

I cant drive the car if its wont defrost.

I owned many a car and none have done this.

My Zepher, Which breaks all the time, defroster turn right on and has the windows completely defrosted in a matter of a couple minutes.

works great.

I already hate getting up early now i have to do it 20 minutes earlier? That sux

I know in the east they think different but they can NOT think that differently?

My garage is not heated
Modified by blfolson at 6:25 PM 12/7/2009

[rsg123]

The challenge is how to defrost your car when the blower will not engage for 15 minutes?

I can turn on defrost and turn the fan up to high but it will NOT engage up to 15-20 minutes later.

So i have to come out in the morning, 20 minuted before hand, to start the car and let it run to hopefully get the defrost to engage.

I cant drive the car if its wont defrost.

I owned many a car and none have done this.

My Zepher, Which breaks all the time, defroster turn right on and has the windows completely defrosted in a matter of a couple minutes.

works great.

I already hate getting up early now i have to do it 20 minutes earlier? That sux

I know in the east they think different but they can NOT think that differently?

My garage is not heated

So you can't even manually turn up the vent speed?

[blfolson]

No, thats to say i can manually turn it up to high and it will show its on high but it not going to blow any air out cold or hot until about 15-20 minutes or so.

[svard75]

That's definitely not norm. I just tried it out and dead cold start. Been sitting in the -4 c weather for 8 hours and as soon as I hit the defrost button it started blowing hard. This was all automatic. It was blowing cold air yes but it defrosted the windshield pretty quickly. You got a problem with the control unit.

CHEERS!

[blfolson]

That's definitely not norm. I just tried it out and dead cold start. Been sitting in the -4 c weather for 8 hours and as soon as I hit the defrost button it started blowing hard. This was all automatic. It was blowing cold air yes but it defrosted the windshield pretty quickly. You got a problem with the control unit.

CHEERS!

Ok at least i know tmena and i are not crazy.

Im going to get it back to the dealer, but when i arrive there im sure it will act normal to embarras me

Modified by blfolson at 4:57 PM 12/7/2009
Modified by blfolson at 4:58 PM 12/7/2009