My Car Heater Blows Cold Air! Now What!?

In simple terms,  your car heater is tied to your vehicle’s coolant. Seems rather strange right? In a way, it may seem actually counterproductive, but don’t worry, we’ll explain it all here. Read more to see how your heater works & what it all means when your vehicle’s heater blows out cold air.

If you’re experiencing an artic blast when your car’s heater is supposed to be on, it’s first important to understand how things work. Your car heater relies on a very important element, called the heater core. The coolant is pumped through your car’s engine to do exactly what you’d probably guess – cool it off. The main function of that is to keep the engine from overheating.

As the coolant cools off your engine, it simultaneously heats up. When that happens, the hot liquid flows into the heater core, located right inside your dashboard. The liquid then passes off the heat to the air flowing about the heater core. That hot air then flows through your vents & keeps you and other passengers warm as toast. At least that is what SHOULD be happening if your heater was working properly.

But what about when you’re getting a cold breeze in your car when the heater is turned on?

There are two issues that you’re probably dealing with:

• The coolant isn’t properly flowing through the heater core
• Or… the air from your vehicle’s blower motor isn’t being directed through the heater core

If you’re dealing with coolant flowing issues, the problem can often be attributed to a plugged heater core. Or you could be dealing with a malfunctioning, often called a stuck blend door. When the door isn’t doing its job, air can flow straight past the heater core, causing it to never get warm in the first place.

If this is something you’re dealing with, swing on by our shop! We’ve got the perfect pros to help deal with your issue. But until then, layer up, bring a hot drink & consider a fuzzy blanket to keep you warm.