Heater question for manual climate control

[roadrunner117]

I now have a 2011 Base Highlander with manual climate control. I noticed that I usually need to keep the dial for the temperature on "full heat" for my entire 45 minute commute on cold mornings. Even at full heat, I would still need to keep the fan speed at least on 2 in order to feel comfortable. On my other cars (Hondas) with manual climate control, I would always have to decrease the temp on the dial to about half in a short period of time, regardless of how cold it is outside. Not so with my Highlander. By the way, it was about 28 degress outside this morning.

Do others with manual climate control need to have the heater set to "full heat" all the time in cold weather?

[05Moose]

No. When it's in the 20's outside, our HL will warm up in about 1 mile (all uphill to the freeway) and then we'll keep the fan on high for several minutes. After that, it's down to low and in less than 10 minutes of driving on the freeway we're turning the temp down. Sounds like your isn't coming out hot enough.

[TrailDust]

Driving around the city the first detent on the fan speed setting and the dial set to hot doesn't seem to cut it, and I also need it set on the second detent to be comfortable. At freeway speeds, though, the first detent is sufficient. What I find about the Highlander heating system is that it is very difficult to set it at a stable, comfortable setting: It's either too hot or too cold, and I'm constantly fidgeting with the controls to keep the interior comfortable. I don't have to do that with my Avalon or Samurai.

[roadrunner117]

Originally Posted by TrailDust

Driving around the city the first detent on the fan speed setting and the dial set to hot doesn't seem to cut it, and I also need it set on the second detent to be comfortable. At freeway speeds, though, the first detent is sufficient. What I find about the Highlander heating system is that it is very difficult to set it at a stable, comfortable setting: It's either too hot or too cold, and I'm constantly fidgeting with the controls to keep the interior comfortable. I don't have to do that with my Avalon or Samurai.

Thanks TrailDust. I'm hoping there's nothing wrong with mine. It looks like maybe yours is acting the same as mine?

I think that at freeway speeds, the first detent would be sufficient for me too. However, I'm concerned that I always have to keep the temperature dial on "full heat" with the outside temp in the upper 20s. On other cars/SUVs, I would have to lower the temp on the dial pretty quickly.

[TrailDust]

I think we're experiencing the same thing. Part of the issue too--and this is just an observation on my part--is that the entire dash assembly gets "cold soaked" and/or "heat soaked" depending on conditions, and seems to take quite a while at city speeds to warm up or cool off. It's not that the climate system doesn't function properly, but rather it's mass has a moderating effect on the air flowing through it. Once the heat or cold has flowed for a while, all is fine. At least that's been my observations.

[thesson]

Well, at least I'm not the only one. My 2010 base takes forever to warm up. It doesn't start kicking out any heat until about a mile from work (it's a 10 mile / 20 minute drive). My old Explorer would start putting out serious heat within a mile. I guess I got spoiled.

[jeffs3820]

Newer vehicles are more efficient and put out less wasted energy (heat). No so with older vehicles. My 1999 Camry generates heat real fast...our newer cars again, take forever. My brother has a diesel powered car that is very efficient and it barely puts out any heat at all.

[05Moose]

Funny how you guys are experiencing just the opposite of what we've experienced (both vehicles are consistent too). But I think it has to do with the road conditions. Like I said, we're traveling uphill for the first mile to the freeway and the heat is on before we're on the freeway (not fully hot yet but that happens within another mile).

Now when we lived further from the freeway and the first couple miles were either downhill or flat, then it took almost 5 miles to warm up! I prefer to have to drive uphill in the mornings.

[Thunderchief]

OK, I don't live in Alaska but it was about 28 this morning, I get all kinds of heat and usually have to dial it down to the mid-point between Red and Blue. Fan setting as low as it can go also.

[roadrunner117]

Originally Posted by Thunderchief

OK, I don't live in Alaska but it was about 28 this morning, I get all kinds of heat and usually have to dial it down to the mid-point between Red and Blue. Fan setting as low as it can go also.

Wow. In 28 degree weather (which it was a few days ago), I can probably get by with the fan settting on low, but having the dial at the mid point between Red and Blue would have been too cold for me. I need to keep the temp dial all the way to the right.

[05Moose]

Originally Posted by roadrunner117

Wow. In 28 degree weather (which it was a few days ago), I can probably get by with the fan setting on low, but having the dial at the mid point between Red and Blue would have been too cold for me. I need to keep the temp dial all the way to the right.

Then I go back to saying something isn't right with yours. We have to turn the dial down within 5 miles or else we cook (too hot of air on the face in the cabin even with it set on foot and nothing blowing on our faces). And both my wife and I have low blood pressure, so we're always cold (but our wood stove keeps it in the 80's in our house). So you know it really is warm in our HL if we're turning it down!!!

Maybe I'll take a meat thermometer and stick it in one of the vents tomorrow morning when I drive my daughter to school and see what the temp actually is. That is, after all, how the dealership would check it (well, maybe not with a meat thermometer). Hopefully, I don't forget to do this! Remembering things sure does get harder with age!

I know the Tacomas had problems with a few years of the same generation as mine (but newer years) where some adhesive didn't stick right on the fresh air door causing it to get hung up and always let in cold air when it shouldn't. People weren't getting hot air out their vents. So there's always a possibility that one of the internal doors in the unit isn't functioning properly and it's inadvertently letting cool air in which isn't allowing it to get hot enough. So don't discount this as "just the way it is" until we have some comparisons. You could always take it in and let them temperature check the heat coming out the vents. Or take another one for a test drive and compare.

[roadrunner117]

Originally Posted by 05Moose

Maybe I'll take a meat thermometer and stick it in one of the vents tomorrow morning when I drive my daughter to school and see what the temp actually is. That is, after all, how the dealership would check it (well, maybe not with a meat thermometer). Hopefully, I don't forget to do this! Remembering things sure does get harder with age!

Good idea, maybe I should do the same, and then we can compare results.

[05Moose]

Hey, I realized we're doing our monthly shopping trips after we drop my daughter off, so we'll be taking my truck instead. But I had somewhere to go up the street tonight, so I took the HL. I didn't get on the freeway, but drove 1 mile up the hill and 1 mile back down the hill before doing the test (2 miles/10 minutes of driving).

FYI, you can't use a regular fever thermometer because they don't go high enough. So back to the meat thermometer. I recall now that my dad used to have one for this purpose (retired mechanic), and I remember him checking them before. Maybe it was even on my vehicle when I was a kid? Anyway, I put the vent setting on full heat, high fan, and set it to face only to get an accurate reading of what the true air temp was coming out both the driver's side and middle face vents. Outside temperature was 36 degrees (we're having a heat wave). Both vents registered 153 degrees (Fahrenheit obviously).

Let us know what your vent temps are as I'm now very curious as to whether yours really does have a problem or not.

[roadrunner117]

Okay, I did the meat thermometer test this morning on my way to work. With the engine at full operating temp, and outside temp 34 degrees, the middle vents registered 152 degrees, while the driver's side vent topped out at around 145 degrees. Looks pretty similar to yours.

I also did a google search on this, and found out that the heat coming out of the vents should be anywhere from 140-160 degrees to be considered normal. Looks like there's no problem here after all, which is always a good thing

[05Moose]

Glad to hear.