Heater takes too long to get warmed up!

[f12e5h]

Now that it's cold I usually start my car in advance. Even with a long engine start before I use it, it still takes forever to warm up and get the heater working good. It starts working and warming up when I've already reached my destination. Is there any problem with my car or would I have to buy something to make it work better. Not only that the air flowing through my vents are really weak, my old broke down nissan vents flow stronger and warm up faster. BTW I have a 09 mazda3 hatch if it makes a difference.

Any suggestions?

[MAZDA Kitten]

I dont find Mazda heat as good. It takes forever to get hot air pumping
I dont know my bf's 89 winter beater Jetta has amazing heat

[Flagrum_3]

Here's a suggestion; Get yourself some Thermo underwear and stop your bitching :chuckle ....j/k!
...that goes for you too MK!

_3

[MAZDA Kitten]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOO

I dont mind it :P I am just saying... I felt more heat from other cars ;)

[yearoftherat]

The heaters in our mazdas are not the greatest..My parents Toyota pumps heat like a banshee.

[mogul_pro]

Heat in the winter, AC in the summer... both are not very strong at all.

[kaval]

Do you turn the heat on as soon as you start the car? If so, try waiting till the temp needle starts to move. Doesn't have to be in the middle, just as soon as it starts moving.

[Halogen]

It may take some driving to get the heater pumping hot air, but you have to love the Mazda's climate control, you can adjust temp's with alot more control then some other cars.

[McGuyver_3]

if you want it to get hotter quicker let it run for about 15 seconds and then start slowley revving it at about 2000rpms then slowly increase to about 3500rpms when the needle starts moving you should be in the clear and it will heat faster.
How long is your trip to work? My trip is roughly 40-50km one way. just from my house to the 401 which is about 3-4 km my car is warm and the seat heaters are working awesome. BTW i drive an 05

[Soyabean]

actually i find the once my car warms up to the mid the heat works very well. I have an 06 GT. My parents have a 07 sienna and i find that the heat takes forever to warm up there.

I would take it back and get them to check the thermostat. As for the air flow, i find 2 isn't enough but 3 is too much. So i kinda hate the way they made that but other than that, i find the heat temperature is fine

[GHANNAH86]

I drive an 08 and I find it heats up within 10 Kilometers and that is when it has been 25 below lately. When it is warmer it heats up within 5 kilometers. I would take it to the dealer like others said and have them check the thermostat.

[BM3]

Same problem with my 05 GT sport. It takes forever to heat up and even when it's heat up, it's not hot at all. If I put my hand right up against the vent, the air is warm and if I put my hand farther away, the air is cool. At minus 25, it's too cold to drive. Same goes for the AC in the summer. There doesn't seem to be a fix for it.

[mazdas3sporte]

heater and A/C are both garbage, everyone knows that, my 98 civic had amazing A/C and heating, I dont know why this cars heating and cooling is so garbage, I drive for 30 mins and only then does it sort of get hot, and I let the car sit for 3 mins at least to warm up before moving

[Malcolm991]

Mine is slow to heat up and cool down but that seems to be an ongoing complaint about these cars!

[McGuyver_3]

between my 3 and my moms murano my car heats up WAY faster then the murano but that is an issue with the murano anyways

[jl123]

Ya same problem hear.. I have had the Thermostat replaced and the coolant flushed(under warranty) on a 2007 3 and still its crappy heat.. They did a check and it was getting 180deg out of the face vents.. when i put my hand about 10" from the vent the air is cold.. im still debating on wether or not to bring it back.. but after reading this I guess its not just a problem with mine.. with the beautiful -30 weather we have had makes a cold drive into work.. With my old car 2001 Grandam after about 10mins of full blast heat it was like a sauna in my car.. With this car I can drive a 30min drive to work and not turn down the heat.. it gets comfortable but not hot in the car.. I wonder if there is a way we can tweak this?

For us Canadians it can suck with the extreme weather conditions..

[Go_Habs_Go]

I find the heating and cooling in my car is fine. It's normal for a car to take a bit of time to warm up and start circulating warm air, especially with the insane temperatures we've been having lately.

Don't put the fan too high at the beginning, wait till the car warms up a bit before turning the fan up to 2 or 3. I rarely even use level 4 on the fan, I find it way too high. If you are controlling the temperature in the car and using the right vents (i.e. defrost as soon as their is condensation on the windows) then there is never any need to put the fan to 4 and even rarely on 3.

While Mazda may not have the best HVAC system, I still find it more than adequate when used properly.

[Gizzmo_jr]

If I can bare it, like others have suggested, is run with little heat as possible so the engine warms up faster. I know it works for me.

[Flagrum_3]

I don't know what alot of you expect, but i think maybe a little too much!!

The temps recently have been pretty low and it just makes sense that you should expect things like slower heat build-up, harder starts etc; ...Personally I find no problem with my heat, I run the car for 1 1/2 minutes or so, with fan on at 1, drive off, and within the short time that I reach the 401, I'm already getting plenty of hot air from the vents and have increased the fan to 2-3 depending on the cold, (and I usually drive with my window open a crack).I haven't touched the thermostat or had a rad flush yet, and everything seems fine to me! I'll be flushing the system this spring cause I think it's slightly overdue.


_3

[MAZDA Kitten]

^^ Whats your mileage? I'm almost pushing 170,000 and never had anything flushed except changed my tranny fluid

[Dave_The_BMXER]

my first car had very very little heat
and my 2nd the blower motor made a god awful noise so this car is heaven.

My 3 gets warm enough for me.. but I am not picky.

I am going to flush my coolant soon I am at 180 0000

[f12e5h]

thanks for everyones feedback, as it is a new car I was just curious to see if anyone else had the problem as well. I didnt want to bring it into a shop and ask them to do something about it if there wasnt really a problem. But thanks again.

[TheMAN]

the 3 has a very efficient cooling system, so it may cause the heater to not work so well... be glad you guys are blessed with a larger heater core that my US spec one doesn't have!

so let the car warm up a bit, and put the fan on low or put it to outside air but fan off and it will still flow a bit of air... putting the fan at higher speeds will just make the engine cool off faster than it can warm up! turn the fan on higher once the gauge is halfway and it should be all good

[Flagrum_3]

^^ Whats your mileage? I'm almost pushing 170,000 and never had anything flushed except changed my tranny fluid

Jebus, unless you have the FL22 type coolant you must have acid running thru your coolant system by now LOL!! ....j/k

The coolant should be replaced at 96k or 4 years with the regular type fluid the FL22 type is 192k or ten years...but I'm pretty sure we only have the regular in our cars....So MK your extremely overdue for a system flush!....not good for all coolant system components at all.


_3

[ds2chan]

my heater seems to be OK.. if the car is just sitting there it takes a long time to warm up.. so I always start driving after a min of warm up (which is ideal anyways) and the car will start feeling warm maybe 5 mins later..

lol.. I originally thought that the title was "Heather" and not "Heater"..

[McGuyver_3]

Holly molly you guys have high mileage motors lol my car is an 05 and I got close to 80000 on it but I still keep up with flushes except for the coolant as I have yet to do one

[sudz]

Personal experience: My 1992 V6 Camry couldn't keep the cabin warm at -15 if it was pulling outside air. recirculate, and it'd EVENTUALLY get there.

My 2007 2.0l Mazda3 - Takes a while, but at minus 26 at the cottage a few weeks ago... Pumping HOT air at FULL speed from outside. By hot.... it must have been over 40*c... So in a couple seconds transfer from outside to inside... over a 60 degree difference? I'd like to see a HOUSE furnace do that!

I have noticed that the roofs of our cars are horribly insulated. If you have a sunroof... Close the sunshade - It helps ALOT.

[Go_Habs_Go]

lol.. I originally thought that the title was "Heather" and not "Heater"..

you need to push the right buttons to get Heather going :chuckle

[cinder88]

I dont know if this was posted but - in this super cold weather - block off 50-80% of the radiator - I bought a piece of plastic from home depot a few years ago and have been using it every winter since.

in -30c my 04 hatch comes to full heat < on the dash> in 5-6 mins of easy driving.

You can use what ever you want, just make sure that water will not effect the material.

This is the 4th car I have done this too, with no problems - just remember to take out the plastic guard when the weather warms up .:)

I am covering about 65% of the rad - and in 1.5 hours of stop and go traffic the needle never goes above 1/2 mark.

Damn its cold lately.

[Flagrum_3]

I dont know if this was posted but - in this super cold weather - block off 50-80% of the radiator - I bought a piece of plastic from home depot a few years ago and have been using it every winter since.

in -30c my 04 hatch comes to full heat < on the dash> in 5-6 mins of easy driving.

You can use what ever you want, just make sure that water will not effect the material.

This is the 4th car I have done this too, with no problems - just remember to take out the plastic guard when the weather warms up .:)

I am covering about 65% of the rad - and in 1.5 hours of stop and go traffic the needle never goes above 1/2 mark.

Damn its cold lately.

LOL. Used to use that method years ago too, but would get some cardboard cut it to fit maybe 50% in the middle of the rad, leaving the ends exposed but also cut a few holes thru out the cardboard! It worked like a charm back then but I'm not too sure about using it with these smaller higher revving engines anymore.But if you say the needle never goes above normal I guess maybe it's still worth a shot! (atleast experimentally)


_3

[mazda lover]

Volvo some years ago, pre Ford, about the mid 60s had a roller blind in front of the rad, when it got cold you could pull the blind up by a chain in the car and release it when the temp warmed up. Now thats an option worth paying for.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Holly molly you guys have high mileage motors lol my car is an 05 and I got close to 80000 on it but I still keep up with flushes except for the coolant as I have yet to do one

I was wrong I am at 130 not 180 haha.

I flushed my coolant today so hopefully my heat warms up faster now?

[1flycdnM3]

I was wrong I am at 130 not 180 haha.

I flushed my coolant today so hopefully my heat warms up faster now?

it should be faster! I have yet to do mine either and im at ~80 000K!