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Check the coolant temperature if you can (if it's an OBD-II car, some readers can give you coolant temperature). If you've got a coolant temp gauge, see if it looks any lower at all (most are pretty hard to read though, one tiny tick down can be a HUGE difference in coolant temperature). I suspect a failed thermostat that's sticking open. I had that ...

As for the blower only working on max, that screams resistor pack. It's usually in the passenger foot well near the blower motor itself. Sounds like it's held in by two 8mm bolts in your case. Shouldn't be too terrible of a job, but you might want to avoid it if you've got back or neck problems. I usually put the seat back down as far as it will go and ...

Hopefully your mechanic would pressure test the water pump before replacing it to determine if it's really bad. Having no heat is usually a symptom of a stuck open thermostat, but if that was the case, your temp gauge would not indicate hot...maybe a clogged heater core? Did your heater core get flushed? That wouldn't explain the temp gauge reading hot, ...

If the fan is blowing, but no hot air is coming out that means that no hot water is making it into the heater core. I can think of 3 reasons for this, each with a different solution. First, and easiest to check: make sure that there's enough coolant in the car. If it's low, there may not be enough fluid to circulate through the core. Second, the valve ...

It looks an awful lot like you have diagnosed all of the really hard problems and come up negative. I wonder if you have a simple mechanical problem: is the linkage sound between the hot / cold selector and the flapper valve that forces air past the heater core. From what I hear, the foam around the flapper is also prone to disintegration in humid ...

You very likely have a bad thermostat. Here are some similar questions that may provide some insight: Where'd my heat go? Why would my heater sometimes blow cold air? Engine never warms up (actually: it cools down) at highway speeds In terms of your specific problem, I would check your engine temperature gauge: does the needle ever move up to its ...

Problem solved! The key was to finally locate the source of OBDII code PO 0171, left bank lean, which I realize was not part of my original question. Anyways, I found a leaky air hose connection between the manifold and the MAF, once I corrected it, the engine idle smoothed out and now we have heat as designed at idle.

It turns out the problem is pretty common with 3.5L Impalas. For some reason these engines loose coolant. Some blame is placed on headgaskets, some blame Dex-Cool. What ever the cause, refilling via the overflow jug can leave an air pocket in the cooling system. The cure is to fill via the pressure cap right to the top. Recheck the level after several ...

The location of the plug depends whether it was installed at the factory, by the dealer, or the third party. One of the most common places for the block heater plug on the third generation Ford Taurus (1996–1999) is the driver’s side opening in the lower part of the bumper (with spring-loaded cap): If it is not visible from the front (either as pictured, ...

Possible stuck thermostat. The "normal" indication on factory temperature gauges cover a huge range. My Eclipse has a factory gauge and an aftermarket gauge. The factory gauge settles in at "normal" for a 160-200 degree range (normal temp is 185). At 160 the car barely makes any heat in the cabin, at 185 it's got decent heat, and at 200 it can light your ...

Another option that you could look into is getting an engine block heater fitted. Essentially, you plug those into a wall outlet and they warm up the coolant which both helps with cold starts if you're in a cold climate, and you should get warm air out of the heater fairly quickly compared to a car without a block heater.

Your heater, like most cars, works from the heater core. It sounds like your thermostat is opening up if you can get air for a minute, but it goes back off. The thermostat may be closing again, or there me be a blockage in the heater core. If you're wanting to try replacing parts, I would start with the thermostat first. They're usually pretty cheap, and ...

Had similar issue in Skoda Felicia (which is much like an older Golf) I own. Check these steps: Close the salon heater. Start the car, wait till coolant gets to its normal temperature. Now open salon heater to the max and check if it readily blows hot air. The air will be hot at first, but quickly loose temperature. Close the salon heater, wait ~5-7min and ...

You could check the temperature of the hoses going to and from the heater core from the engine side of the firewall when the vehicle is warm and with the heater on. If both hoses are warm, then you are getting coolant flow through the heater core and your problem is likely inside the vehicle with the air control flaps, possibly the foam seal has come loose ...

I'd vote heater core issue first. If the heater core is clogged you might not be getting enough hot coolant through to get significant heat after the coolant cools down to a normal temp. The other option on some cars is that the thermostat control itself isn't working properly this would be more likely if the car has a digital thermostat and the control ...