Jump to content
LegacyGT.com

Slow to warm up? Thermostat issue?


Recommended Posts

I purchased a new 2019 Legacy Premium this past July, and have been very happy with it so far. Now that it is getting cold outside, I am noticing the car takes a while to get up to normal operating temperature. By that I mean the gauge usually runs exactly half way between cold and hot. It takes about 15 - 20 mins of in-town driving to get it fully warmed up. Is this normal? The other thing that I have noticed is that I start getting warm air out of the heating system very quickly, like in about 90 seconds of driving. The gauge hasn't moved yet, but I definitely feel warm air. Could I have a thermostat that is stuck open? I talked to the dealer about this issue, and their response was that if there was an issue with the car not warming up fast enough then the computer system would display a warning code. I have mostly driven Hondas over the last 25 years, and am used to little to no heat until the car warms up and the thermostat opens, which was usually about 5 mins or so of driving.

Thanks

Edited by ingraham72b
Link to comment
Share on other sites

yup welcome to the FB motors were coolant is restricted to the heater core until the engine warms up....took Subaru 3 years and multiple dealers to figure out the t-stat was broke in my car.. the were sure happy to feed me a line of poo about getting a remote start though....and the same poo about the computer would detect the problem etc....
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So just to be clear, I should not have any heat until the thermostat opens after the water temp reaches the correct temperature, correct? The service tech I spoke to was not sure if the 2019 has a heating element in the heating system which kicks on to give some heat before the engine warms up. He said the 2020 models have this heating element, but wasn't sure if the 2019 had it. If it does, that would explain the quick heat. Can anyone else out there confirm this for me?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The heat that comes from my 2016 3.6R gradually gets warmer as the car warms up. It seems to be at least close to operating temp after about 10 minutes of driving. Maybe a little bit longer if it's below 0 degrees F. I love the full auto climate control that gradually increases the fan speed as the car warms up so that it's not just blasting cold air in your face while it's still cold.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I purchased a new 2019 Legacy Premium this past July, and have been very happy with it so far. Now that it is getting cold outside, I am noticing the car takes a while to get up to normal operating temperature. By that I mean the gauge usually runs exactly half way between cold and hot. It takes about 15 - 20 mins of in-town driving to get it fully warmed up. Is this normal? The other thing that I have noticed is that I start getting warm air out of the heating system very quickly, like in about 90 seconds of driving. The gauge hasn't moved yet, but I definitely feel warm air. Could I have a thermostat that is stuck open? I talked to the dealer about this issue, and their response was that if there was an issue with the car not warming up fast enough then the computer system would display a warning code. I have mostly driven Hondas over the last 25 years, and am used to little to no heat until the car warms up and the thermostat opens, which was usually about 5 mins or so of driving.

Thanks

 

 

 

Depending on how cold your talking sure. In the dead of winter when it is in the single digits, mine sometimes never even comes up to the middle even after 15-20 miles of driving.

The 15-17s take ~5 minutes for the heat to come on after a cold start. The electric element, if its real, is a nice feature actually :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could understand this if it was 0° outside. The coldest it’s been has been 35°. For most of these tests it’s been between 35 and 40° outside. I’m a bit worried what’s going to happen when it gets to be zero or below zero. Edited by ingraham72b
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So just to be clear, I should not have any heat until the thermostat opens after the water temp reaches the correct temperature, correct? The service tech I spoke to was not sure if the 2019 has a heating element in the heating system which kicks on to give some heat before the engine warms up. He said the 2020 models have this heating element, but wasn't sure if the 2019 had it. If it does, that would explain the quick heat. Can anyone else out there confirm this for me?

 

 

you will get some flow but not full on flow and this is what causes the reduced heat until engine warm up

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to the dealer today in hopes of driving another 2019 Legacy to ease my mind. Unfortunately it didn't really answer my question. They had a few 2019 Legacys left, but the 2.5 liter was not on the lot. They did have a 3.6 liter, so we tried it. The salesman said they did not have a license plate available for us to use (I kid you not), so we just drove it around on the car lot. He drove, and I timed how long it took to just start to get warm air, which was 3 minutes and 6 seconds. That is twice and long as I get on my car. I would think the larger engine would warm up faster, so I guess I still am not sure if my thermostat is working properly or not.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to the dealer today in hopes of driving another 2019 Legacy to ease my mind. Unfortunately it didn't really answer my question. They had a few 2019 Legacys left, but the 2.5 liter was not on the lot. They did have a 3.6 liter, so we tried it. The salesman said they did not have a license plate available for us to use (I kid you not), so we just drove it around on the car lot. He drove, and I timed how long it took to just start to get warm air, which was 3 minutes and 6 seconds. That is twice and long as I get on my car. I would think the larger engine would warm up faster, so I guess I still am not sure if my thermostat is working properly or not.

 

 

3 minutes? lol that is awesome my 14 still takes about 10 miles to get good heat..my 2002 Acura CL-S was pumping good heat in about 4 miles even on days when the temp was -30F. Wife's 2003 will throw heat out by the time i out of the park I live in...

 

 

One thing that absolutely WILL aide you is once you have let the car run for a few minutes to get the oil circulating, give it enough gas so that the engine is around 3K during acceleration, it seems to warm up a bit faster.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The high efficiency of the FB25 (2.5 liter) engines results in less waste heat being available in the coolant, so they tend to warm up rather slowly, especially in cold weather.

 

The FB25 cooling system is designed to deliver coolant to the cabin heater immediately at startup. As the coolant temperature reaches ~125 F, the thermostat for the CVT heat exchanger begins to open, the purpose of which which is to warm the CVT fluid as quickly as possible. Since cold CVT fluid sucks a lot of heat, you will likely see the temperature gauge plateau for a few minutes. At ~140 F the CVT thermostat is fully open, and engine warm up proceeds normally, if somewhat slowly.

 

For what it's worth, the AGAS air shutters in the lower radiator inlet will remain closed at ambient temperatures below ~37 F. This is intended both to shorten engine warm-up time and to lower aerodynamic drag when the cooling load is low.

Edited by ammcinnis

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." ~ The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

spacer.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use