No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic

Blueridge9 · Post by **Blueridge9** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 6:21 am

No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic.Last Friday night I turned on my heat for the first time this season and it just blew cold air!! Brrrrrr. The blowers work fine as does the air conditioning.So we checked the coolant and it was waaayyy down about 3 cups so we added that and it blew some heat on an off. It's hard to check the coolant level - we got a flashlight and pushed on the bumper to see where it sloshed. First I was surprised the coolant was low since I just had an oil change a few weeks ago and they usually check all the fluids at that point - guess I should have checked behind the Meineke guys. So I don't know if it leaked out all at once or gradually over time.My thermostat and waterpump were just replaced last winter and they seemed to be functioning fine (no sign of thermostat being stuck open). No sign of baffle control being off the thingy as mentioned in the TSB bulletin by Raging Fish. I take it to my real mechanic who specializes in Radiators and heating & cooling and he has been trying to fix it FOR 4 DAYS !$!He tried everything - back flushed it twice, replaced some hoses, replaced the thermostat. No engine codes to read. One hose temperature was 150 degrees and the other was only 115 degrees he replaced that hose again. He said something about the difficulty in getting the air out of the engine....??Not engine trouble nor the heater core. He was pulling his hair out from the mystery of it. .He put on a new waterpump each day til he got to the 4th one. My mechanic even called the Pontiac dealership to see if their mechanics had seen troubles like this b4. He tried putting an electric waterpump on it (not designed for the Vibe) and it worked with that just fine. So he put the Vibe waterpump back on and now it seems to be working fine so we're not sure what finally fixed it. I was worried I'd have to take it to the Pontiac dealership to have them try next. He cranked it and put on a cabin thermometer inside and now it heats up to 160 degrees.My mechanic is still uncertain if it's really fixed and wants me to watch it for a week to be sure it's ok cause if not he thinks that if still a problem untreated it could cause real engine trouble down the road. WEIRD !So I'd advise you all to check your coolant/antifreeze level now that we are going into cold weather.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 6:44 am

Four water pumps? I hope he didn't charge you labour for all the time to re and re them. It sounds like there was air in the system that didn't burp out and caused a blockage to the heater core. Very mysterious indeed. By the way, what's the mileage on this little trouble maker?

prathman · Post by **prathman** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:10 am

What has the engine temperature gauge been showing? Low coolant level should result in higher engine temperature than normal on longer drives.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 10:41 am

supposedly these cars are hard to burp after a coolant change, maybe the problem was just that there was a static air bubble in the system somewhere. Glad it's finally working, getting on to be winter soon.

Blueridge9 · Post by **Blueridge9** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:26 pm

Quote, originally posted by Raven Â»Four water pumps? I hope he didn't charge you labour for all the time to re and re them. It sounds like there was air in the system that didn't burp out and caused a blockage to the heater core. Very mysterious indeed. By the way, what's the mileage on this little trouble maker?He has been very embarrassed about it taking so long and he insisted that I not pay ANYTHING til I drive it for a week and make sure the heat is consistently hot. Yeah it could be there was an air blockage to the heater core. I've got 68K on it.

Blueridge9 · Post by **Blueridge9** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:27 pm

Quote, originally posted by prathman Â»What has the engine temperature gauge been showing? Low coolant level should result in higher engine temperature than normal on longer drives.I drive mostly short trips in town so I have not noticed higher temperatures.

Blueridge9 · Post by **Blueridge9** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:29 pm

Quote, originally posted by joatmon Â»supposedly these cars are hard to burp after a coolant change, maybe the problem was just that there was a static air bubble in the system somewhere. Glad it's finally working, getting on to be winter soon.Joatmon, Yes I hope it was a air bubble in the system. I'll be keeping a close eye on it all week.

Blueridge9 · Post by **Blueridge9** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:35 pm

The worst part was having to drive a pickup truck til my Vibe was fixed. I'm so happy to be behind the wheel again!

djb383 · Post by **djb383** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:42 am

I know for an absolute fact, the Vibe 1.8 cooling system is tricky, to say the least, to purge/burp air from the system. Just filling the radiator while the engine is idling (rad cap off) won't completely fill the cooling system, as I quickly found out (NO HEATER). The way I did it was to fill the system as much as possible with fresh coolant, put the rad cap back on then start the engine and hold the throttle at 2000-2500 rpm with the heater set at hot and fan on high. Here's the crazy thing....the coolant temp would slowly rise to 230F (ScanGauge) and the heater would be blowing cold. It's scary watching to coolant temp rise that high and yet the factory gauge is still in the middle......how worthless is that. All of the sudden, the heater starts blowing hot air and the ScanGauge quickly drops to 186F, which is where it normally runs. BURP ACCOMPLISHED! Turn motor off and SLOWLY/CAREFULLY remove radiator cap and fill the radiator to the top and fill the overflow bottle half way between the cold/hot markes. I would recommend checking the radiator (ENGINE COLD) each day for the next week and add coolant directly to the radiator (not the bottle) all the way to the top, if needed. When you get to the point where you can no longer top-off/add coolant the radiator (it stays full), the system should be purged of air and re-check the level in the overflow bottle. ScanGauge - don't leave home without it!

Blueridge9 · Post by **Blueridge9** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:46 am

Thanks!

wilthis · Post by **wilthis** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:23 pm

thanks for the tip. I also noticed when I start the car on a really cold morning, the rad fan is running. Shouldn't that only come on when the car is hot?

djb383 · Post by **djb383** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:01 am

The A/C compressor should not engage when temp is below 32F......that's what is says in our '05 owners manual anyhow. If the A/C compressor is not engaged, the rad fan should not be running, unless the coolant temp has reached +/- 230F IIRC.

schnurmac · Post by **schnurmac** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:43 am

I have this same exact problem with my wifes 03 vibe. i always fill the bottle when I change the oil. I will try to purge air from it. I will will post my outcome. I have been scratching my head for two years on this. Dealer always just shrugs their shoulders. I thought they did it when we had accutator thing fixed. They have taken dash out completely twice! Sounded like a person in the dash trying to get out. I will also try this on my 87 Suburban i can see the temp gauge go all the way to 260 then fall quick to 210 but no hot air when driving or idling.

skylinedrifter · Post by **skylinedrifter** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:37 pm

I am sad to say that I am experiencing this very same problem. Last night I filled the burp tank then, this morning, I drove my 45 miles into work. Hopefully I'll be able to report some improvement. If not, I will follow djb383's steps.Thanks!

afastbandit · Post by **afastbandit** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:27 am

Ok, so I'm having a very similar (if not exactly the same) problem with my '03 Vibe GT. At the beginning of the cold season I noticed that the heat was not working as well. Then after about a week, the cabin heat would not even warm up at idle; I would have to actually get the car moving and then it would get warm. Checked the coolant level and was a little low but not very, so I topped it off, in the burp tank. So, I finally got some time and I changed out the Tstat figuring that was the most obvious (and cheapest) fix to start with. After that, the temp gauge would basically climb to the max if I didn't cut off the engine (and still no cabin heat!). So, I took the top rad hose off and topped it off with coolant as well as the radiator. Took the car out for a test drive and the temp would spike (not to the max but 3/4 of the way up on the guage) and then settle to the 1/2 way point and keep floating like that. So, I topped off the top hose and radiator again and went out for a drive. Same thing! (and still no cabin heat!) When I parked the car this time though I noticed a trail of coolant on the driveway. Popped the hood and...the rad is squirting out coolant!!! So, now I need a new radiator. I'm not sure if I screwed something up to cause this but if there was too much coolant, there is an overflow for that. I've got 86k mi on it and never had a coolant flush. Rad does not look in bad shape at all. Any idea what could have caused the rad to blow??Maybe it was going...that I don't know.So, w/ new thermostat and now leaky rad I think I'm taking it to the radiator shop to have them replace the rad, flush the coolant and mostly, BURP the damn system. You think it could be a water pump. How 'bout the cabin heat?...How can I tell if the heater core is dead?Please advise.Tx

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:19 am

Did you put the thermostat in backwards??? That would cause the engine to overheat.Heatercorer might be clogged or it could be just an (big) air bubble. Checking the heatercore is a pain. Without totally removing it, the easiest way to check is to take the coolant hoses off of it and attach the garden hose to it.

afastbandit · Post by **afastbandit** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:23 am

Thanks for the prompt reply.The Tstat should be in correctly.Last night I did get the cabin heat to work by running the car at idle with the rad cap off and just filling and filling for about 45 min. During that time the cabin heat and coolant temp were normal (or better than normal) but when I replaced the rad cap the heat would not be as warm and the coolant temp would drift upward (although it wouldn't overheat). Once I would remove the rad cap again both would improve. The system did burp quite a bit while I ran the motor with the rad cap off.That makes me think it may be the water pump...does that make sense? I'm not sure how to test the water pump (or if I have the tools to).Also, I still have a radiator leak...what is the general opinion on the use of bar's leak to seal up the radiator??I'm hesitating on taking the booger to the shop $ : (

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 9:42 am

Quote, originally posted by afastbandit Â»...what is the general opinion on the use of bar's leak to seal up the radiator??I've always been hesitant about that stuff... some brands can clog the system (especially the heater core).If the leak is clearly visible, try fixing it with some JB weld. Drain the rad to below the leak, clean it up so there's nothing but clean bare aluminum and paste 'er up!And to test the water pump, when the engine is up to temperature squeeze tightly the upper rad hose. You should hear and feel the coolant rushing past your hand. Put a dry rag on the rad hose to prevent burns.

burns · Post by **burns** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:20 am

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver Â»And to test the water pump, when the engine is up to temperature squeeze tightly the upper rad hose. You should hear and feel the coolant rushing past your hand. Put a dry rag on the rad hose to prevent burns.I'm having some heat problems too. I just replaced the water pump one month ago and today started having problems. I did feel the upper rad hose and it's hot but not too hot to squeeze, and not at all pressurized. Shouldn't it be?

knightrace · Post by **knightrace** » Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:07 pm

no heat unless engine running over 2000 rpms when stopped at light. looked under the hood this morning and noticed some dried up pink stuff around the drive belt pulleys... thinking maybe water pump going out.

patsabre · Post by **patsabre** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:56 am

i have same problem, im going to check my pump.

knightrace · Post by **knightrace** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 6:10 am

I added the toyota fluid to the plastic tank (because it was empty) and it solved my heat problem. now, I need to find the leak and fix the real problem of losing fluid.

ShawnHulet · Post by **ShawnHulet** » Sat Oct 26, 2024 5:08 am

Okay, so I figured out the trick! After experiencing these exact same issues listed above in my 2003 vibe, I realized that the heater core is positioned above the engine and subsequently the radiator and overflow (Who designed this ?!)
Anyway I solved the issue of removing the Air Lock in the coolant system by positioning the front end of my vehicle uphill (about 16" above the rear) and successfully topped off the coolant, engine running, fan and heater on high until all the intermittent bubbles stopped coming out (after thermostat opened at running temp) and Presto! the baby is burped... Hope this helps

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Mon Oct 28, 2024 8:02 am

ShawnHulet wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2024 5:08 am Okay, so I figured out the trick! After experiencing these exact same issues listed above in my 2003 vibe, I realized that the heater core is positioned above the engine and subsequently the radiator and overflow (Who designed this ?!)
Anyway I solved the issue of removing the Air Lock in the coolant system by positioning the front end of my vehicle uphill (about 16" above the rear) and successfully topped off the coolant, engine running, fan and heater on high until all the intermittent bubbles stopped coming out (after thermostat opened at running temp) and Presto! the baby is burped... Hope this helps

Nice trick, and welcome to genvibe!

No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic

No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (Blueridge9)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (Blueridge9)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (Blueridge9)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (Raven)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (prathman)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (joatmon)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (Blueridge9)

Re: (djb383)

Re: (wilthis)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (Blueridge9)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (afastbandit)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (star_deceiver)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (afastbandit)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (star_deceiver)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic (burns)

Re: (patsabre)

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic

Re: No cabin heat in 2004 1.8L automatic