the heat in my car sucks. It gets colder as I slow down and come to a light if the car isn't fully warmed up. It also gets colder if I turn the fan speed up if the car isn't fully warmed up. I HAVE to turn on the recirc for like the first 15 minutes for the car to get warm & toasty. No other car have I seen where the heat varies with speed. Usually once the temp gauge comes off up a bit, the car pours out heat.

clogged heater core, funky thermostat, or just sucky heat? This is my first winter in a Honda. I've always had VW/Audi. I guess German winters are colder.

 

Well...turning fan speed up before your car is warmed up is just gonna blow more cool air on ya so thats not to bright. In my car, its cold as hell till things get warmed up, but other then that it doesnt sound like your heat is acting abnormaly, other then the getting colder when you come to a stop thing....which is just :eh:

 

It doesnt suck...it blows

 

make sure you have enough coolant in your car. when it is low, your heat doesnt circulate through the coils.

 

:werd: What XS said.

However, you have a 95 LX... which means you have the same engine as I do. D15B7's don't generate much as much heat as the 2.0L+ VW's you're used to. They also don't hold it. My engine cools down completely within 5 minutes.

It takes my car forever to heat up. The heat sucks. It takes 15-30 minutes if it's below freezing for it to start feeling luke-warm if I let it idle. If I get the car up to highway speeds, it takes about 5-10 minutes. Once the temperature needle is half-way, it will roast you unless you're at a stop light.

If the temp needle drops while you're sitting at a stop light, the thermostat might be stuck open. That would also make your car take forever to warm up, but it won't hurt your engine.

I went skiing last year when it was -4° at the resort. When I left, I let my civic idle for 20 minutes, drove 15 miles down the mountain, 22 miles to the highway, and 5 minutes after getting on the highway, it began to warm up. My girlfriend was bitching the whole way about it. This was when the engine was brand new and nothing was wrong with it, or my antifreeze mixture. 1.5L Honda engines just don't make much heat.

 

Definitely thermostat. I did mine two weeks ago. Same symptoms as you, now hot as hell. $10 and an hour of work.

 

not to jack the thread, but I have the Opposite problem..... My heat works just fine, but in the summer, even on the coldest setting I get warm air. Something must be wrong, because the air is considerably warmer than the ambient air outside...

 

Don't take women in your honda when its cold out. They bitch like crazy about the heat.

I would double-check your coolant, that is probably the biggest factor. My car used to never ever get warm, and its because I had way too little coolant. I've installed a block heater in my car that cycles the coolant around to get everything warm, and it really helps. Some mornings I can start the car, I get warm air instantly.

Another thing is, well, its a long shot, but your water pump could be out too, or your thermostat could be out of whack aswell.

 

For copperfox-
The valve probably isn't closing all the way. You could try lubing the cable and working it open and closed or just get a new one. The valve is in the engine bay between the motor and firewall.

 

:werd:

my heater doesn't really start working until the temp gauge is up. And its not just our small block honda's that does this. I work for a rental car company, so in the mornings, I get to deal with a bunch of cold cars, from v8s to i4s, and they all more or less have the same "problem."

suck it up pansy :fawk: either prewarm your car or get a thicker jacket :reechy:

or move to a warmer climate we haven't dropped below 20* this year :db: