No heat in my 06 tacoma

Hi all,

I love going through some of the threads and reading all the help everyone gives and I'm hoping you guys can help me out. just to be clear, I'm not much of a mechanic, I try and fix things to best I can but have very little knowledge about car repair, that's why you guys are so helpful.

I have a 2006 tacoma, I recently replaced the radiator and everything was working just fine until with the last few weeks, I haven't been able to get heat through the vents. When I turn to the heat on, the fan works at all different settings and I get some warm air for a bit and it goes to cool air.

The AC works and I've checked the coolant level and it's at the right level, and doesn't seem to be leaking or losing any fluids.

The other thing that happens that I think is associated to the heat issue is that when I'm driving the temperature stays between the H and C, but randomly when I'm driving slower or at a light, the temperature goes way high and is on H.

I have no idea what it could be, everything I've read on here or youtube says it's the blower or heater core. However, when I research both the items they aren't the symptoms I have.

Any help would really be appreciated.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld
Do both heater core hoses get hot ?

 

When you replaced the radiator did you also do the tstat and burp air out of the system

 

This ^^^^^.

 

Clearwater bill,

That's I'm not sure if they did, but I did try and burp it myself. I saw it on one of the threads. But I didn't have the front lifted, I'll get a jack and lift the front a bit and try to burp it.

Thank you for reminding me of that, I completely forgot burping it fully.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Hi and welcome. Definitely symptoms of not enough coolant moving through the system. And just so you know, when you aren’t getting heat in the cab, there’s a real good chance that the engine is getting dangerously hot. Not to assume that you don’t understand that, but the heat that you want in the cab is the wasted heat that the engine needs to get rid of. No heat for you could mean no heat being removed from the engine.

Hopefully you can get the air out of there and get the coolant flowing.

 

Thank you all, I'm going to lift the front and burp it tomorrow. I'll update asap.

 

So I lifted the front, tried to burp it and not much burping.

The hose from the coolant gets hot but I noticed both the hoses that go into the firewall don't get as hot. Does that suggest something? Am I reading to much into this?

I am getting some warm air now, but not hot.

 

When I refill the cooling system, I also have the heat set to max and blowing.
I also squeeze the hoses intermittently during the warm up process.
Having a spill free funnel helps too. Other wise, some will spill out during the burping process.

 

The heater input hose should be hotter than the outlet hose, as heat should dissipate in the core if you have the heat on.

Do you have full air flow at the floor/defrost vents when heat is selected and the blower is on high? What happens if you change the setting to the dash vents but leave it 'hot'? Does the AC work correctly in terms of air volume and 'where' it blows out based on your selections? Trying to determine if you may have a failed damper setting that's not opening to allow proper air flow.

You didn't comment if you changed the Tstat during the service work. Some of these are very brand sensitive, meaning Toyota is the best choice for this bit. And they have to be installed in a very specific way. If the Tstat is hanging open, you may not be getting hot enough.........

Just spitballing at the moment, but things to look at.

 

So, first thank you guys again. I don't know what an a stat is, but will check with the mechanic who replaced the radiator, but based on my results this far I may go somewhere else.

Here is the update:

I emptied an entire 1 gallon bottle. So either I have a leak that I haven't noticed or the mechanic didn't finish his job. I'm currently in the process of burping the car while it's on to get rid of all the air in there.

I will update as soon as I finish it.

 

I think you found your problem. At least a gal. (by liquid volume) of air.

Tstat is short for thermostat. Controls the coolant flow based on temperature of the coolant. Ie closed till operating temp is met, opens to allow flow

 

If you emptied an entire gallon into it, the mechanic never burped the system, he just filled the radiator and sent it out the door. I always put the front end higher then the back by two feet or so, heat on high, and squeeze all the hoses. Then off for a drive with the heat on high [yeah it sucks in the summer] back into the drive, put the front end back up, make sure the overflow is to the full line, let cool down for an hours or so, recheck the overflow tank, refill if needed, pop the cap, check level, fill if needed, then check the overflow tank daily if I drive it and add as needed. I watch the gauge carefully the entire time driving and as always, I keep a gallon of antifreeze in my ditty bag in the bed.

You really need to take your time nowadays replacing antifreeze on ANY newer vehicle.

 

It had a lot of air. It ended up being over a gallon of coolant.
The thing that got me was that the reservoir was filled above the fill line before I added all that coolant. That's what had me confused. It ended up being filled way over that line and I took some of it out to get it closer to the fill line.

One thing I did notice and I'm not sure if it suggestions anything, but while the car was on and the front lifted while filling the coolant (30-40min) I notice a lot of water coming out of the exhaust. Is that normal?

 

Idling? Yes, it's normal, especially if it's cool or cold outside.

 

Maybe a little condensation could spill out from having the front end lifted, but unfortunately there’s a chance it could be your coolant coming out. Hope not. Keep checking the level.

That’s a worst-case scenario. Probably just condensation.

 

If the exhaust liquid looks smells or feels like coolant, you may have a head gasket issue.

However that much loss of coolant through the exhaust should cause some driveability issues by wetting a plug or two

 

Drove around ans parked it and checked about an hour later and didn't see any drops or any water/liquid around or under the car. So I think that was the issue. Just didn't have any coolant.

Thank you all for the help, I feel like this site is a crash course on how to fix my truck.

Next on the list is to replace the lower control arm on both fronts wheels. Anyone had an idea of how much that will cost in southern california? Or where to take it that won't empty my account?

 

So you have full heat now?