Heater issues in the cabin: help

[DrPils]

Hey folks

Have a 2003 corolla and am having insufficient heat coming out of the vents, which makes it a little uncomfortable as I live in Michigan. I took it to my mechanic; he said the fluids and hoses were in good shape. He took the temp. of the vent air and it only reach around 85-90 degrees (he says it should be 110+). He suggested that I go to a place in town that specializes in radiators. The engine temp. gauge is in its normal position so the engine itself is getting warm. The problem is this heat is not getting transferred efficiently to the cabin heating system.

A friend said it may be the temperature sensor...

Any suggestions or thoughts would be well appreciated!

[Raddman]

Originally Posted by DrPils

Hey folks

Have a 2003 corolla and am having insufficient heat coming out of the vents, which makes it a little uncomfortable as I live in Michigan. I took it to my mechanic; he said the fluids and hoses were in good shape. He took the temp. of the vent air and it only reach around 85-90 degrees (he says it should be 110+). He suggested that I go to a place in town that specializes in radiators. The engine temp. gauge is in its normal position so the engine itself is getting warm. The problem is this heat is not getting transferred efficiently to the cabin heating system.

A friend said it may be the temperature sensor...

Any suggestions or thoughts would be well appreciated!

Might be your thermostat is opening too quickly or your heater(under dash) isn't fully engaging/opening! I have an 03 and I get good heat when it hits normal temp it's blistering no matter what the outside temp is, I just wish my corolla had a stronger fan, sometimes I have to go to the highest fan setting just to get a good flow of air even when using my AC!

[mikered30]

Does your temp gauge get up to normal?

[Volvosteel]

I would deff check your thermostat, its just as common for them to open early as to not open at all, it is considered a failure and these are normally pretty inexpensive item's to replace and are a DIY item.
As for the other poster on the weak fan, i agree, when i am driving around in the summer time in temps exceeding 120 it would be nice if the Ice Cold air comming from my A/C would blow just a little harder into the cabin, ive thought about replacing it with some aftermarket until that will spin faster.

[Rdkill]

I will take an infared temp of my heat today when I drive home so you can compare.

[Rdkill]

OK mine puts out, at the vent, full heat around 170F to 180F.

[dorman68]

Possible partially clogged heater core or kinked/binding temperature control cable causing the door under the dash not to operate properly.

[willy65000]

where is the temp control cable?

[dorman68]

It runs from behind the control knob assembly to the heater door. Your best bet would be to remove the heater control assembly.