Heater stopped working......

at least for the passenger side:mad:. Would this be a problem with the control unit? I have dual climate control but seems more like single climate control now. 85 is set for both sides and heat is only emitting from the drivers side...actually the air coming out of the vent by the window doesn't seem that hot either. Passsenger side gets nothing but cold air...and it's freaking freezing outside!!! Any help please! This is embarassing....especially when you got a girl in the passenger seat

I have the same exact issue. Mine started the same way as yours but has now progressed to the driver side too. Just had an ice storm yesterday - not good when the pass. side won't defog / de ice due to no heat! Subaru has "never seen this before" I would be interested in hearing any remedies.

heater core gone bad....

blower motor gone bad...

heater core gone bad....

blower motor gone bad...

 

if it was either of those, then wouldn't there be no heat at all and not just the passenger side?

sounds like the servos controlling the airway adjustments are stuck/broken.

Any further information on this? I have the same symptoms

Could be related to a coolant corrosion issue. See post #7 in the following thread: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59465

 

I have had passenger side heat issues since day one, but now that we are finally having below zero temps in Chicago since I got the car it is all that much more noticeable. My wife refuses to ride in my car until I either get it fixed or warmer weather. In any case, I know my VIN falls under the WWY-09 service bulletin, so I will go with that angle to start with.

 

For some reason, I don't believe that will be my fix though. Based on the design of the heater core, if the passenger side loses heat, the driver side should lose it as well. I already tore apart most of my dash to check out how the heater door stepper motors work and are working. I have verified that they are working fine. I also checked to see if the mixture door was moving through its full range of motion...check there too. I could feel the door seating against a seal in both directions, so dead end there.

 

A couple of other fellas on here have had their heater cores replaced and the problem was cured. I have a theory that the heater core seal that prevents heat from going around the core was either improperly specified/designed/installed on the passenger side allowing cold air to pass around the heater core, but only on the passenger side. When the heater box was removed, the seal was likely replaced and corrected.

 

I did do a temperature test to better show the issue I am seeing with the temperature difference. Here is what I am seeing:

 

Outside temp: 18 deg F

Engine temp: normal (mid-scale on temp gauge)

Temp setting: 85 deg F (full hot)

Fan speed: 6 (high)

 

Vent - Driver/Passenger Temp

Floor - 130 / 87

LH Vent - 124 / n/a

LH Center - 135 / n/a

RH Center - n/a / 79

RH Vent - n/a / 90

Defrost - 147 / 74

Defrost* - 147 / 68

*defrost vent temp with flow in floor position.

 

I took the temps with a digital probe thermometer, like what your normal service tech uses. I let the temperature settle for ~2 minutes in each position and made sure the probe wasn't touching anything. You can see that there is a severe temperature disparity. While 79 deg isn't 'cold', it feels cold when blowing around in the car as compared to the 130 or so temps from the driver's side. I will be contacting a couple of my local dealerships to see what can be done and let you folks know what I end up with for a fix.

I have a 2.5i without the dual zone climate thingamagiggy so I don't know if it relates, but I had the same issue and it was a shot heater core

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101270

 

the dealer said they've been recently finding faulty heater cores that were built/installed from '05-'07

I had seen your thread, didn't dawn on me that the SE would have manual controls. Strange that your passenger side would stop heating since your heater box isn't split like my auto unit. I would still like to see my heater box out of the car to see what it looks like inside. From what I can tell, the heater core has its pass tubes running back and forth horizontal across the driver/passenger side chambers. That is why I can't understand why I can have hot air on the driver's side and cool air on the passenger side. If the heater core clogged up, it should kill both sides. In any case I will report back once I get resolution.

I finally got a chance to stop by my local dealer to schedule an appointment for this morning and dropped off my car. We will see what they find with my heat issue. Neither service writer nor the head tech this morning has had an issue like this at their dealership. All three of these guys have been at the dealership a minimum of 3 years, FWIW.

 

I actually created a whole infomation package about this issue which included what I had done, the temps I recorded and the threads from this forum related to the issue. They were impressed with the info I brought, let's see if they pay any attention to it. The head tech started to flip through it while I was waiting for my ride to work. He did a search on their internal service website and came across information from Subaru with regards to using aftermarked anti-freeze. Apparently they have had issues with certain brands of anti-freeze causing corrosion in the aluminum heater cores and radiators which causes a loss of cabin heating and overheating of the engine. My car doesn't fall into that category, but it did fall into the group of 05-06 units that were recalled for having coolant with too high of a chlorine content. That flush/refill was done back in June 2006 and I haven't touched my coolant since. I wonder if the damage was already done when I had the recall performed and it has been getting progressively worse since. Hopefully I will hear something back later today.

Well, finally got my car back Monday night. Gee only 7 days to diagnose the issue and install 2 new heater cores. Apparently the 1st heater core installed leaked, so they had to order up a new one and had to go through the entire process a second time. My car has that lovely "car wash soap" scent to it now. I would assume it is from whatever they had to clean out my heater box with. Hopefully this will subside after a couple of days.

 

I haven't had a chance to measure the vent temps to see how things have changed, but the vent temps are quite close between the driver/passenger sides. I have also noticed that the vent temps are higher now too. I left my temp settings on both sides to 85 deg on my way into work (~25 minute commute). About 1/2 way in my eyes were watering from the amount of heat being thrown at me with the fan setting on 3...yikes! Granted the outside temps were 42 deg, but I can't remember this car throwing that much heat even when new. I should get a chance to check the vent temps again later this week and will report back on the 'after' temps.

 

I wonder if the high chlorine content coolant that was installed/recalled did its damage before I even picked my car up new. I had the coolant recall done less than a month of picking the car up, so it wasn't in there too long.

 

On a side note, my dealer's service department folks need some training to say the least! Here are a couple of points that just irked me: 1) Don't make up an answer to my question, tell me the "truth". Whenever I would call back a second time and talk to someone else, I would generally get a different answer. This does not instill any confidence in your customer. 2) Pay attention to your customer on the phone. When you try and hold a side conversation about going out clubbing this weekend with one of your buddies while you are on the phone with a customer, it can be just SLIGHTLY annoying. 3) If you say you will call back with a status, then call back with a status!

 

It is amazing what kind of folks companies allow to actually interface with customers sometimes. The afternoon Service department rep was a very immature early 20-something who thinks she knows it all and is queen of the roost. I restrained myself from reaching across the counter and slapping her silly when I came in to pick up my car. I was apparently interrupting her ring-tone swapping with a friend that was having a difficult time keep his pants from falling off (jeezzz I sound like an old man!). Granted, administering the service department in the evening can be boring, but you better jump to when a customer does show up. Just another reason I stay away from dealerships unless absolutely necessary.

Well, finally got my car back Monday night. Gee only 7 days to diagnose the issue and install 2 new heater cores. Apparently the 1st heater core installed leaked, so they had to order up a new one and had to go through the entire process a second time. My car has that lovely "car wash soap" scent to it now. I would assume it is from whatever they had to clean out my heater box with. Hopefully this will subside after a couple of days.

 

I haven't had a chance to measure the vent temps to see how things have changed, but the vent temps are quite close between the driver/passenger sides. I have also noticed that the vent temps are higher now too. I left my temp settings on both sides to 85 deg on my way into work (~25 minute commute). About 1/2 way in my eyes were watering from the amount of heat being thrown at me with the fan setting on 3...yikes! Granted the outside temps were 42 deg, but I can't remember this car throwing that much heat even when new. I should get a chance to check the vent temps again later this week and will report back on the 'after' temps.

 

I wonder if the high chlorine content coolant that was installed/recalled did its damage before I even picked my car up new. I had the coolant recall done less than a month of picking the car up, so it wasn't in there too long.

 

On a side note, my dealer's service department folks need some training to say the least! Here are a couple of points that just irked me: 1) Don't make up an answer to my question, tell me the "truth". Whenever I would call back a second time and talk to someone else, I would generally get a different answer. This does not instill any confidence in your customer. 2) Pay attention to your customer on the phone. When you try and hold a side conversation about going out clubbing this weekend with one of your buddies while you are on the phone with a customer, it can be just SLIGHTLY annoying. 3) If you say you will call back with a status, then call back with a status!

 

It is amazing what kind of folks companies allow to actually interface with customers sometimes. The afternoon Service department rep was a very immature early 20-something who thinks she knows it all and is queen of the roost. I restrained myself from reaching across the counter and slapping her silly when I came in to pick up my car. I was apparently interrupting her ring-tone swapping with a friend that was having a difficult time keep his pants from falling off (jeezzz I sound like an old man!). Granted, administering the service department in the evening can be boring, but you better jump to when a customer does show up. Just another reason I stay away from dealerships unless absolutely necessary.

 

Glad to hear you got this issue fixed. I'm assuming the warranty on the heater core is 3yr/36k? That means I will be looking for a write up on how to change the heater core:(.

I have an '06 and have 62k on the odo. Still not having any heat at all emit from the passenger front, defrost and feet vents.

Glad to hear you got this issue fixed. I'm assuming the warranty on the heater core is 3yr/36k? That means I will be looking for a write up on how to change the heater core:(.

I have an '06 and have 62k on the odo. Still not having any heat at all emit from the passenger front, defrost and feet vents.

 

That is not good my friend. I wonder if your car was part of the recall for coolant with a high chlorine content like mine? I have a feeling that 'bad' coolant was in my car long enough to crud up my heater core in under 3 years, so likely you have a similar issue.

 

Looking through the manual changing a heater core doesn't seem too much more involved than changing in an A/C equipped Mustang. I have changed ~5 of those over the years.

 

I had pulled all the dash & console panels and was likely 50%+ on the way to getting the heater box out when I brought mine in for the warranty work. The main reason for pulling these items was adding some interior lighting in the footwells and cup holders and my inate curiosity. The main issue I see with the job, other than having to drop the dash, is likely having to blow the A/C system to get the heater box out to gain access to the heater core.

 

Good luck if you decide to tackle it yourself. I had to sign the dealer's invoice for the warranty work that was to be billed back to Subaru, it was only $435. May be worth your time to see what your local dealer would charge for a walk-in heater core repair. Don't be surprised if it is double that number above!

I did finally get some 'after' numbers on my heating system. All conditions were virtually equal, except for a 2 deg F increase in outside air temps. To reiterate the 'before' numbers:

 

Vent - Driver/Passenger Temp

Floor - 130 / 87

LH Vent - 124 / n/a

LH Center - 135 / n/a

RH Center - n/a / 79

RH Vent - n/a / 90

Defrost - 147 / 74

Defrost* - 147 / 68

*defrost vent temp with flow in floor position.

**outside temp was 18 deg F.

 

The after numbers are a bit better:

 

Vent - Driver/Passenger Temp

Floor - 141 / 138

LH Vent - 133 / n/a

LH Center - 140 / n/a

RH Center - n/a / 137

RH Vent - n/a / 133

Defrost - 143 / 142

Defrost* - 132 / 132

*defrost vent temp with flow in floor position.

**outside temp was 20 deg F.

 

The main thing I notice now, other than a toasty warm car, is that with the temp setting on 85 on both sides the air can get hot enough to make my eyes water! My wife is very happy to be a passenger in my car again. Now I have to worry that she will want to leave her Forester behind and take my Legacy on errand running...

Just ran into this issue tonight (same complaint from my wife - no heat on her side felt ~68deg instead of the 90 deg the dial was set to) as the temperature was -30 deg C / -22 deg F outside.

 

Recently had my 05 OB XT LTD in the shop as I discovered no Block heater, so Dealer installed it (and flushed the coolant as I understand is needed for that block heater installation).

 

I guess it's back to the dealer to get this sorted (I have extended warranty luckily) Car has 66,000 miles on it. Ran my last '98 Outback up to 176,000 no heater core issues... hope it's not a long fix.

 

Thanks for all the temperature data WhatV8. Helped me greatly.

Does anyone think that this could apply to the HVAC when it is cooling as well . I am looking at a driver / passenger variation from 8-18 degreess difference. All mix doors are working correctly and not sure where to go from here. Not looking forward to pulling the dash, but i would like to be more sure that this is the problem. Any help or direction please.....

hmm...seems this is a common occurance..i havent been on for awhile, but now that the temps here in pa are dropping everyday..ive noticed that my cars heater sucks!! only way to get a little bit of heat is on the floor setting...if you put it on any of the two defroster setting it blows cold air! now normally i wouldnt notice, but now that winters here the windows arent easy to defrost and you gotta bundle up...this is unacceptable on this new of a car with only 29,000 miles!! is there any way it could be the heater core this soon?? any help would be great...thank you!!

I'm going to get my heater core flushed by the dealer next week in the hopes that it corrects the problem. I've already drained and refilled the system a couple times, rinsing it to get rid of any residual 'coolant conditioner'.

I have used "jiffy lube" to flush the coolant system...heat has gotten better (tolerable ) now. Still get a "girgling" sound at idle - suspect some

left over air in the system. I think it cost $59 to do it at Jiffy Lube - not sure how much dealer will get you for ?

Dealer will be more than jiffy lube... Probably 1.5hrs of labor I expect.

 

One thing to note that Subaru warns in their Coolant Cautions doc:

 

Do not use a flushing machine to service Subaru cooling systems. If the machine has been used to service other makes of vehicles that may have copper/brass radiators, a chemical reaction between the copper ions and Genuine Subaru Long Life Anti-Freeze Coolant may occur, which could cause clogging of the radiator.

Coolant Cautions May05.pdf

Dealer will be more than jiffy lube... Probably 1.5hrs of labor I expect.

 

One thing to note that Subaru warns in their Coolant Cautions doc:

 

Do not use a flushing machine to service Subaru cooling systems. If the machine has been used to service other makes of vehicles that may have copper/brass radiators, a chemical reaction between the copper ions and Genuine Subaru Long Life Anti-Freeze Coolant may occur, which could cause clogging of the radiator.

 

It's stuff like this that the average driver (or even car enthusiast) won't know. That's why I always take it to the dealer for service. It might cost a bit more but at least they follow proper Subaru procedure.

I finally got a chance to stop by my local dealer to schedule an appointment for this morning and dropped off my car. We will see what they find with my heat issue. Neither service writer nor the head tech this morning has had an issue like this at their dealership. All three of these guys have been at the dealership a minimum of 3 years, FWIW.

 

I actually created a whole infomation package about this issue which included what I had done, the temps I recorded and the threads from this forum related to the issue. They were impressed with the info I brought, let's see if they pay any attention to it. The head tech started to flip through it while I was waiting for my ride to work. He did a search on their internal service website and came across information from Subaru with regards to using aftermarked anti-freeze. Apparently they have had issues with certain brands of anti-freeze causing corrosion in the aluminum heater cores and radiators which causes a loss of cabin heating and overheating of the engine. My car doesn't fall into that category, but it did fall into the group of 05-06 units that were recalled for having coolant with too high of a chlorine content. That flush/refill was done back in June 2006 and I haven't touched my coolant since. I wonder if the damage was already done when I had the recall performed and it has been getting progressively worse since. Hopefully I will hear something back later today.

 

Do you know when your car was built?

Same symptoms on my 05 GT wagon (drivers side fine; no heat on passenger). Took it to dealer and they have said that excessive rust in cooling system is preventing them from fully diagnosing problem and they aren't into the liability issue (93K), so back to my mechanic for extensive flushing.

 

Dealer is hedging on whether or not rust is blocking the heater core, but if there's only one core, how could driver's side get heat???? any ideas?

Dealer is hedging on whether or not rust is blocking the heater core, but if there's only one core, how could driver's side get heat???? any ideas?

 

Air for the left and right sides of the car is drawn through different parts of the same heater core. If one side of the core is plugged, then the air being drawn through it won't be getting hot.

 

What puzzles me is why it always seems to be the passenger side that is affected.

Just had my dealer flush the cooling system.

 

It seemed to have fixed the problem with the passenger side blowing only warm air, now it just blows cold

 

Driver's side still OK.