2001 Saturn Station Wagon Cool Heater

AKRAMPERT

MEMBER
2001 SATURN STATION WAGON
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
118,000 MILES

I have a 2001 LW300 Saturn wagon. For the past few weeks on very cold mornings I have noticed my heater seems to take much longer to get warm. When it finaaly gets warm it requires the full hot postion and never gets hot air like it used to. Also if I have to stop for a few minutes at a light the air strts to get cooler and as soon as I move again the air warms up. The dealer checked the thermostat and says it is ok (not sticking open) because no computer codes show up. Would a code really show a stuck thermostat or could it still be bad. Dealer advises to change heaterv core now. What else could cause this problem? Is there a heater valve in this car? Thanks for any help

Friday, February 6th, 2009 AT 1:22 PM

1 Reply

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

Hello
Thanks for the donation.

A stuck thermostat will not throw an engine code. However you can still test it to see if it opens properly. Do this by removing it and placing into boiling water over stove. Using a meter capable of hot temps., See if thermostat opens at or around the 170F mark. Replace as necessary.

Also inspect the two heater hoses going through the firewall, under hood, leading to heater core. With vehicle warmed up and heater on high setting, both hoses should be warm. If one or neither are cool, heater core needs replaced.

Post results and I will follow up.

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Friday, February 6th, 2009 AT 7:01 PM