Hi, I was searching but didn't really find anything on this. I have a 2011 4Runner and when I start the car when it is cold out, it takes a while for the heat to get warm, seems like maybe 5-10 mins before it starts getting warm and thats not idling but driving. Anyone else notice or have this issue?? TIA
2011 Heat Issues
- Thread starter apdragon
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eddiebx
New member
Yes, I think mine takes at least that long too when it's really cold out...probably normal.
It's definitely slower than my Honda CRV, sometimes I swear that CRV has an electrical heating element or something, lol.
Mine doesn't suck. It will burn me out if I want it to, but it takes a loooong time to get there when it's cold out.
Antman
Elite Member
I use my seat heaters to warm me up until the engine gets hot........Dew guys don't have them????
My seat heater is on ALL the time. I rarely turn it off or down. It doesn't get too hot either. FML!!!
FrontRange4Runner
New member
Mine takes as long as 5 min to get hot, however sometimes its hot within 1 mile or so. After it is fully warm it can really pump out the heat. Kinda makes me sick sometimes lol.
FrontRange4Runner
New member
Agreed and I would have ordered one with mine even though it does not get to cold here (unless your in the mountains). Mostly so I could brag about it...."Pfffff your Jeep only has a regular heater? Check this out...."
newmaverick
New member
My 07 Camry gets hot fast and air is quite warm. Where as my 11 4Runner SR5 takes more time and air is not quite warm as Camry. Perhaps mechanical radiator fan has something to do with this?
CrazyNorwegian
New member
I think it's just part of how toyota plans to make this car go well past 200k miles. Other cars will heat up quicker, but it takes heat the engine is using to get to normal operating temp. By allowing the engine to reach its temp first, it produces less wear and tear on the engine. Over time it can add up. In toyota's mind the car comes first...you come second.
jrandom
New member
Which is a perfect reason for the Lexus aux heater coil mentioned a few posts ago. I am actually kinda surprised there isn't something aftermarket.
Even in my 3rd gen driving down canyon for an 1 hour during a snowstorm the heater wouldn't generate much heat simply because the engine was hardly doing anything. My old 89 PU 22RE was even worse, the temp pin would hardly budge, I had to change out the thermostat and block half the radiator for it to get warm.
harper7
Senior Member
My slow heating was worse when it was new and has gotten better now that I have almost 70k miles on it. I too believe these engines being so efficient is the main culprit ,especially at the low rpms we usually do/should start out with in cold temps. When it was in the low teens here last week the truck didn't get up to operating temp of around 190F til almost 10 miles down the highway.Has plenty of heat once it gets warmed up and have to turn it down.
For those with Limiteds ,I found the fastest way to heat is just turn the dual climate controllers to max heat and then push the left dial to use Auto or just make sure it's in Auto first. That way it won't blow any warm air til it senses that it has warm air to blow.You'll notice the fan will automatically be on low or off and increase as it gets warm air to distribute.Of course turn the seat warmers up the whole way too as soon as you get in!
If you get in and impatiently turn up the heat and manual control to the max fan setting then it takes that much longer as your just blowing cold air across the heater core coils and effectively cooling them and never giving it a chance for heat to build up.
Did some research in the factory repair manual.....
It seems we do have an electric aux heater"
(PTC) available but possibly it was an option just for cold climate uses.I'm pretty sure the asteric on the trouble shooting part denotes that it's optional ,as in the *:w/PTC heater.
I know some on here have the cold climate options as they came with the block heaters .
The bad news is that AC unit is a mutha to take out to install one even if we do have the wiring harness and can get the part number for the heater.
When researching Toyota PTC heaters ,I did read on the Prius forum that somebody said their PTC heaters only work on max heat and low fan setting so maybe we do have them and somebody can further the research.
Here's from our repair manual....
For those with Limiteds ,I found the fastest way to heat is just turn the dual climate controllers to max heat and then push the left dial to use Auto or just make sure it's in Auto first. That way it won't blow any warm air til it senses that it has warm air to blow.You'll notice the fan will automatically be on low or off and increase as it gets warm air to distribute.Of course turn the seat warmers up the whole way too as soon as you get in!
If you get in and impatiently turn up the heat and manual control to the max fan setting then it takes that much longer as your just blowing cold air across the heater core coils and effectively cooling them and never giving it a chance for heat to build up.
Did some research in the factory repair manual.....
It seems we do have an electric aux heater"
(PTC) available but possibly it was an option just for cold climate uses.I'm pretty sure the asteric on the trouble shooting part denotes that it's optional ,as in the *:w/PTC heater.
I know some on here have the cold climate options as they came with the block heaters .
The bad news is that AC unit is a mutha to take out to install one even if we do have the wiring harness and can get the part number for the heater.
When researching Toyota PTC heaters ,I did read on the Prius forum that somebody said their PTC heaters only work on max heat and low fan setting so maybe we do have them and somebody can further the research.
Here's from our repair manual....
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