My heater takes forever!

[kastrix]

Does anyone else experience this problem. It seems as if my heater takes forever to heat up. If i leave my car running for 20 minutes it before i get in, it isnt hot. The temp gague is only about 1/4 of the way up (it sits at 1/2 when fully warmed up) Is there something wrong with my car, or is it another suby quarke?

[vrg3]

Unless it's really really really cold outside, that seems slow. When was the last time you changed the thermostat? Maybe it's stuck open or partially open.

Is the air coming out of the heater actually not hot also? Cuz if it is, it could just be the gauge that's not working.

[evolutionmovement]

The heater should blow progressively warmer air as the temperature rises. Mine blows luke warm once the gauge registers and gets like a hot blow drier at full operating temperature. However, mine takes a long time to come to full temp if I just leave it idling. The thermostat opens, but the temp won't come up all the way. It comes up fine if I drive it, but it's still slower than most other cars. It's always been that way, so I think it's just the cooling system being a little over built. My fans rarely come on and only under hard driving will the temp gauge even go over it's normal setting (usually sits just below the half mark, but will go to the half mark when pushed). So it may be a normal trait to the Legacy. If you can rule out the thermostat and the heat does eventually work, I wouldn't worry about it.

Steve

[Legacy777]

change the thermostat, make sure you get an OEM one from the dealer. Aftermarket ones don't work real well in our cars.

[HomeSlice]

also check to see if there is air in the system