Drivers foot hot!

[SoCalVibes]

The plastic heater box near the drivers foot of my 2004 Vibe is always hot? Anybody else?

[ragingfish]

I think I speak for the masses when I say... HUH?

[Mase]

Are you talking about the 2 heater return lines? Those things get hot! I burned my arm on it once while working under the dash and got a nice 3" long blister. Try getting some pipe insulation sleeves that can withstand at least 200f degrees and zip tie it around the 2 lines.

[PhillyVibeGT]

Sorry, but I found that funny as sh*t! (mike's post that is)I thought the same thing

[SoCalVibes]

I must have been mistaken. I thought this was a forum for tech info, not for comic wannbes.

[Mase]

The driver's side floor vent is right above your right foot. The only time that should produce heat though is if you have the temp selector on "hot" and have the hvac on "floor vent".The ECU is on the passenger side right under the glove box so that shouldn't be a problem.Check the 2 zinc coated heater return pipes like I posted earlier. That's what produces the heat in my car.

[Mase]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Really, thought it was under the drivers side? Wow.Well, I may be wrong. I'm just assuming it is in the same place as it is my my Matrix. The ECU shouldn't be producing much heat anyways even if it was under the driver's side.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by SoCalVibes »I must have been mistaken. I thought this was a forum for tech info, not for comic wannbes.Can't give you info without some in return.Your question made no sense. Give us more to work with.

[joatmon]

If you look at the engine compartment you can see where the heater hoses go through the firewall, it seems to be about center, so I assume that the heater core is in the center of the dash. The heater core is like a little radiator, hot coolant from the engine flows through it, and air that is blown across it gets hot. Some cars I have owned included a switch/valve of some type that cut off coolant flow through the heater core if the temp setting was set to cold. These cars do not have such a valve, so coolant from the engine is always circulating through the heater core. This can make that part of the heater box get hot, even when the temp setting is set to full cold. I think it also contributes to the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the air conditioning system. I think it is relatively normal for that to get hot in these cars, but one thing you might want to check is there was a problem with the temperature control cable not being adjusted properly, and which resulted in a flap in the heater box not fully closing when the temp setting was full cold and allowing some air to pass through the heater core (which is always hot), working against the AC. There are threads here somewhere about how to adjust it, it's pretty easy, but not necessarily permanent, because I've had to adjust mine twice so far.I thought about putting a valve in the heater hose at one point, but figured it needed to be a heater core bypass and not just a cutoff, because I don't want to modify coolant flow in the engine and maybe create a hot spot in the engine. But, winter is coming here, so I don't mind the warm heater core now, and this last summer it wasn't really much of a problem for me.Anyway, welcome to genvibe! What kind/color/year/options Vibe do you have?

[SoCalVibes]

Hi all, Sorry about the comic wannabe comment! I didn't say it to be mean, just a sarcastic sense of humor. The problem is that the black plastic box (where the heater hoses come in) just to the upper right of the drivers foot is always hot, to the point of being very uncomfortable. Its a 2004 just straight up Vibe with the Moon and Tunes package. No GT and no AWD. I think that joatman is on the right track with the cable adjustment. It feels like the water flow to the core or the air flow off the core is not shut down all the way. I was just checking to see if anybody else has had the same problem. When I called the dealer they had not seen it before. I love the car, best value ever but this "hotfoot" problem is annoying.Thanks for your input and once again, sorry for the off the cuff comment.

[wicked1981]

Hey welcome to the forum. I see you are the same area as me... Cool!

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by wicked1981 »Hey welcome to the forum. I see you are the same area as me... Cool!Now we really need to get a SoCal rally going..inlcuding the Vibers down in SD (Damron)

[Atomb]

i read this thread awhile ago and wasn't sure what you were talking about...until today.i just had a 7 hour drive and i noticed the 'hot foot'. i reached down and sure enough it's that plastic 'casing' up and to the right of your foot when on the accelerator.i had never noticed the heat during the summer (which is strange?) but i did today. one difference was that i had the heat on today and, obviously, not in the summer.I turned the heat off today and the 'hot foot' did subside a bit but my foot was still hot (maybe it was just residual heat already in my shoe?)I think some sort of heat shielding/padding would work perfectly....question is, where to find something like that?

[SoCalVibes]

Last week the dealer said that it was"functioning as designed" and that the black plastic box is always hot. We just don't notice it untill we use the heater, get it hot, then turn it off. I think I noticed it a lot because I drive over 150 miles a day in LA rush hour traffic. The heat sheild/padding is exactly what they suggested however I have not had time to find a source for a heat insullation in a sheet form that would work inside. I will get on it this week and if I find something I will let you know.