07 Matrix long warmup time

[Hedgehog48]

I have a 2007 Matrix I bought in the spring. It only has 15,000 miles on it. I notice now that the temperatures are getting cool at night, it takes a long time to warm up. I remote start it and let it run for 15-20 minutes and the temp. gauge only goes one line above cold and the interior is still freezing. I notice also when I have the heat control in the defrost position, the cooling fan cycles even though its 30 degrees out. I checked the coolant level and it is full. Once I begin to drive, the temp comes up to normal and the interior starts to warm up. What could cause this? My 96 Corolla didn't do this and neither does my wife 03 Tacoma. 15 minutes of idling in either of them and it would be nice and toasty inside.

[124spider]

This is yet another thing on my 08 Matrix I am annoyed with....seems it take FOREVER to get the heater warmed up....useless to run the car when there's a layer of ice on the weindshield as the heater simply does not get hot enough to do anything until you driven the var for at least 5-10 minutes...absolutely a useless car in midwest winters. (four cyclinders always warmed up real fast for me!)

(lets see what else...seemingly incurable leftward drift.....seat belt buzzer although I may have solved that fionally...not silky smooth shifting; prefer the clutch/shift action on my 34 year old fiat better!!!!....crampy interior even though I am a scant 5'5"; again, feel like I have more leg room in the fiat!!!!....seems I can never press the unlock button on the remote enough times to open the pass side (press it twice and the wife is still stuck waiting at the door...ditto the rear hatchback)....now I cant seem to get the rear seat backs to lock upright.

Anyhow....sorry for the rant

[kevintomb]

mine an 03 takes forever also...Im not sure what it is.........

[thebarber]

buy a block heater or suck it up

seems normal to me....small 4 bangers take a while to heat up

also, consider that ALL of the space in the car need to heat up...that a LOT of interior volume.....plus 8 windows leaking heat (9 if you have a moonroof)

[ALarsh]

Whats the temp outside? I bet its too cold out and all the heat is getting blown away. Its not good to let a car idle for 15-20 min. Start it, let it idle for 30 seconds and then drive. Less carbon build up and will generate heat faster because its actually under a load.

[kevintomb]

Originally Posted by ALarsh

Whats the temp outside? I bet its too cold out and all the heat is getting blown away. Its not good to let a car idle for 15-20 min. Start it, let it idle for 30 seconds and then drive. Less carbon build up and will generate heat faster because its actually under a load.

The Temp outside obviously varies...any time its much below about 40 degrees it takes a LONG time to REACH OPERATING TEMPERATURE...im not worrying about the heater or being warm myself, its that the engine takes a VERY long time to get to normal temperature. Sometimes when its really cold ( 0-20 degrees) the car sitting idling, will actually COOL down substantially according to the engine temp gauge. Its a problem affecting high idle speed, and poor gas mileage...NOT a heater or comfort problem im trying to address.

[kevintomb]

Originally Posted by thebarber

buy a block heater or suck it up

seems normal to me....small 4 bangers take a while to heat up

also, consider that ALL of the space in the car need to heat up...that a LOT of interior volume.....plus 8 windows leaking heat (9 if you have a moonroof)

Its not a small 4 banger issue, otherwise my camry would do the SAME thing.....my 04 4 cylinder camry warms up driving the EXACT SAME ROUTE AND SPEED in about 2 miles at MOST. My matrix NEVER hits normal engine operating temp, even after 4 miles and I park my car at work. If I leave it IDLING, for 10 minutes even after ive driven that far it fails to warm up anymore with the engine temp gauge reading about somewhere between NORMAL temp and cold. In other words the temp gauge moves about 1/4 of an inch or so, as compared to fair weather and after its driven MANY miles the halfway point is the normal temp.


Im not talking about the "interior" or the car not warming up, im referring to the engine never reaching normal temp, thus affecting the long amount of time the engine idles very fast, and consequently uses a lot more gas on my fairly short trip of about 4 miles.

[djkeev]

Hi,

I have an 07 Vibe, the mechanical twin of the Trix. I have no issues about warm up time and this winter here in Northern NJ has been COLD!
I would go to your dealer and have them fix it. Most likely the thermostat is stuck in the open position which would cause this problem. At 15000 miles even though you are the 2nd owner you are still under the warranty.

I just took apart my 94 Pickup 3.0 for a timing belt and water pump and found that the original thermostat was stuck open with silicone sealant remnant from the FACTORY!!! They used too much and the excess oozed into the water pump and got caught in the thermostat! You may have a similar issue or just simply a defective thermostat.

Let us know what the problem is when you find it.

Dave

[Hedgehog48]

I just solved to long warm up time problem, I traded the Matrix in for a 2009 Jeep Rubicon for my wife and now I'm driving here 2003 Tacoma Doublecab. Anyway, thanks for the advice.