Heater output

This is my first winter with a Tacoma. On cold days -20c it takes 30 minutes before I can take off my gloves. The temp gage is in the middle of its range and I am getting heat from defrost and floor vent but it seems weak. Is this normal or should I look into solutions/repairs,I've had vehicles with worse heaters but I've had better. Thanks Phil

 

-4F is damn cold, not unusual to take longer to heat up, mine does it too. Drive it gently and dress warm.

 

This has been covered in several other threads the past few weeks, but I am completely underwhelmed by the performance of the heating/defrosting of my '12. I have to go back to my air-cooled VW or my Alfa Romeo to remember such a poor system. Maybe I've been spoiled by driving other cars/trucks in the meantime... Nissan, Oldsmobile, VW, GMC, VW, Audi, Ford, Subaru, and Dodge.

I want to track down if something is wrong, but haven't had the time.

 

We just went through a stretch of -15F temps at night. My truck was warming nicely after 10 minutes or so.

 

The heater will not run warm until the engine block is warmed up, as the heater draws heat from the immediate cooling system which can only get hot after circulating through the hot block.

For maximum effect, rev the engine at any lights in neutral at 3000 rpm and while driving keep the gears low to keep the RPM's high as well. I don't turn the heater on until I reach about 1/4 indication on the temp gauge (likely the cooling system has reached 130-140 degrees and to avoid cold air coming in, I touch and hold the recirculation button about 3-5 seconds to make sure the fresh air duct will stay closed.

This method has always worked well for me on this truck. I have never done it on a -4 deg. Temp, but the concept is the same.

 

Was -40C (-40F!) and -45C here last week. Concept and actually working in those temps are different. I would never touch the recirculation button in the winter here, for fear of it freezing open, or partially open.

I thought I had flushed all my 0C windshield washer fluid out already this winter. NOPE. My washer fluid was a slushie, and the little pump could not pump it. I had to buy a turkey baster, and (-40C outside since I do not have a garage) remove as much of the washer fluid as I could. Refill with -45C stuff. Still did not get enough out, and it went to -45C that night. Same thing the next day, could not use the washer fluid, until we drove the truck for 3.5 hours, then snow wheeled for 4 hours. The wheeling actually got it warm enough to make it all liquid again lol.

 

That is some cold weather but 30 minutes seem like a ridiculous amount of time before it's warm enough on the inside of your truck to take your gloves off.

 

Welcome to tw. In winter here i warm it for maybe 5 min with heater off. No issues with my heater. Alot better than my 93. And we have had -25 weather.

 

If the temperature indicator is showing the truck has fully heated up then you should be getting heat. If you are not, something is wrong. Doing the re-circulation trick mentioned above is a good idea. That way you're not trying to warm up 0 degree air.

I don't live anywhere NEAR as cold as you guys but I can say the truck does take a while to warm up. Once the truck is warm the heater still takes a bit to get up to operating temp but once it does it's FIRE. Does that mean it has a poor heater? No. It just means the cooling system is VERY good and it takes a while to heat everything up. I'm betting where you are the thermostat opens just barely, if at all.

 

Don’t do this! ^^^

Just drive normal, it’ll warm up.

 

Why not? What do you think is going to happen?

 

I would agree with @12TRDTacoma . "Revving" the engine may sound like a bad idea but realistically 3krpm isn't anything you won't already be hitting when driving around. Now, I wouldn't go nuts and just rev the piss out of the engine though, that's not very smart. The truth or the matter is that engine speed, unloaded in neutral, is way easier on the engine than 3krpm driving around. Just helps warm things up quicker than idling at a stop light.

In fact, my old Mazda RX7 has something called an "accelerated warm up procedure". Basically, it would hold around 1700rpm after you started it till you hit the brake pedal. This helped the engine warm up quicker.

 

10 degrees f mine is warm in 10 minutes and will run you out of the cab on high after another 5 minutes of driving sounds like thermostat is stuck

 

My Taco runs for maybe 1 minute before I back out of the garage and drive away, sort of slowly. 2 miles to town and it hot, over 120* There have been posts made about saying you may need to flush the heater core... ummm the coolant runs constantly thru the core, so if it needs flushed the coolant has been badly neglected. imop

 

My policy has always been rev the piss out of the engine until warm(er). Granted I'm not going to rev it to 5K continuously but I am going to rev it to 3-3500 RPM if it is cold to help warm it up quicker.

I also give the engine maybe a second or two after I start it before I throw it in drive and get moving. Not one engine I have ever dealt with has ever thrown a rod, spun a bearing, damaged a tranny, or collapsed a valve spring because of it.

Now, with that being said I also do not live in a climate that is known to have -4 degree weather at any point. My point is, those factors should be a bit more considered and things like a block heater are encouraged even by myself in those situations.

In California west coast style climates, I don't see a need in doing those "let the car warm up 5 minutes before driving." Ideologies of the past. Those are simply antiquated forms of thinking in a new age of automotive technology.

I have been doing this on multiple cars for years and years. No issues and I will continue to do so.

Food for thought.