Not as much heat as i would like

[brendo907]

Ive been lurking on this site ever since my fiance got a vibe, we love it, hop in drive around and not use much gas and a tank in the snow. She has a 05 vibe base,auto. I live in fairbanks alaska and its getting really cold here, it hit -30 yesterday. Its got all the winterization goodies on it, synthetic oil. It just doesnt seem to have that good of heat, i can understand its extremely cold out but the engine doesnt really get up to operating temp. If im on the highway for 5 mins or so it gets up to temp and the heat is decent but when i get off, by time i get to home depot (really close) the temp is low again. I have the radiator blocked off with one of those election signs people put in your yard and i put a hole infront of the fan just incase it got a little to warm. Driving around town the heat gauge is at mabey a 4 oclock position or so. Just wondering if this is normal or not. Usually any 4 bangers ive owned have great heat and warm up quickly. I was considering a hotter thermostat but it looks like its quite a job to get in there and replace it. Im a mechanic and fully confident but currently im in a tiny apartment without a garage and like i said, kinda cold out there. Any recommendations? I think im going to get her one of those heated seat mats for like 20$ because im a nice guy and probably order one for myself for when i drive the vw beetle to work. RIght now i drive my diesel to work and if i dont plug it in for awhile she will not start up and it doesnt even want to get up to operating temp in this weather. Although while im at work i either park inside or plug in for the entire time and i put a little electric heater in there last night, made the drive home alot better. Thanks in advance everyone.

[star_deceiver]

Your thermostat is stuck open. Drain the coolant, replace the thermostat, refill. The thermostat should be in the block, right where the lower rad hose connects.

[beemerphile1]

What he said. It is not normal. It may be open, it may be AWOL, it may be the wrong temperature. Make certain you put the correct one back in, not a higher temperature.

[circuitsmith]

At -30 a good thermostat might not be enough.
This is a small, all aluminum engine with all the fat trimmed; and the block itself sheds a lot of heat directly.
If it's below freezing and I crank the heat on medium or high in stop-and-go traffic the temp gauge starts dropping.
It's been that way since I got it with 8k miles.
If it's going to stay below freezing you can try blocking the front grills to reduce cold air blowing past the engine.
A piece of cardboard behind the grill(s) can do the trick.
I block the lower grill on my 2006 Matrix when I know the temp is staying below 70F and it warms up noticeably quicker when it's below freezing.