Hi all,
I've got a 2001 Civic EX, which I just bought used a little over a month ago. It's gotten unusually cold where I live lately (low 20's Fahrenheit), and I'm not very happy with how my heater's working. It takes a good 15 minutes of driving or more than 20 minutes of idling for the thing to start blowing warm air!

Sure it's an "old" car, but is that normal? Is there a heating element that's likely gone out and need replacing? How much would it likely cost to fix? Would you take it to a Honda dealer or another mechanic?

And is it something a non-technical person could do themselves? (I do a bit of DIY around the house, but am by no means a gear head...)

Thanks very much for the help—and happy new year!

not normal, sounds like the thermostat is stuck open. costs around $20 from dealer and not too hard to change. you have to drain some coolant and then open up the thermostat housing to swap it. its sortof involved if you havent worked on cars before. does the temp gauge take forever to reach normal (just below 1/2) on the gauges? if so, its for sure a stuck thermostat. it should be closed when cold so the coolant does not circulate to the radiator. this warms it up faster in the cold, then once it heats up the thermostat starts to open so the engine doesnt overheat. but in winter it will not open much. if it is always stuck open, you will be having the coolant flowing all around thru the radiator and this could take 30 mins or more to warm up. its also not good for the motor because it works more efficiently at normal operating temp. and you are burning more gas.

Thank you, Gearbox.

Yes—I remember it taking a long time for the temp gauge to rise to normal, but I'll pay more attention to it the next time I drive to make sure. How long should it take? Should it reach normal temp before the heat starts blowing, or the same time?

And that's $20 for the thermostat part—not including labor, correct?

So there is no separate heating element? "Just" the engine?

Really need to get this fixed—it took so long to get my windshield defrosted (it was even a bit frosty INSIDE the car) that it made me late!

as soon as the temp gauge starts moving up from the lowest position, there should be a little warmth. when temp gauge reaches just below 1/2 (between C and H), you should have full heat in the cabin. yes $20 for the part, you can find em on ebay sometimes too but be sure to get the honda part and not a generic. the heating system is complicated, but pretty much depends on the engine coolant temp to work. some engine coolant is routed thru a heater core (like a mini radiator) behind the dash, and then the fan blows air on it which is how heat comes thru the vents. there is a door that opens and closes depending on how you set the temp switch either cold or hot. on cold, it blocks the heat from the core. alot of cars are now starting to include electronic heaters, but for a vast majority of cars the heat comes directly from the antifreeze (and so you will not have heat until the engine warms up).

normally, it takes about 5 mins in summer and 10 mins in winter for the gauge to reach normal engine temp. ofcourse this varies on driving style and how cold it is. around 32F it should only take 10 mins. faster on the freeway, slower if you are in traffic. i like to keep my auto in D3 in the city to keep the rpms a bit higher until the temp gauge warms to normal. in colder climates (down to -10F and lower) this is a requirement otherwise the car will never warm up.

Thanks again—and thanks for your edit.

I'm typically just city-driving with plenty of stop lights. Will follow your tip about using D3. I ran some quick errands over the holidays and found that it would only warm up once I was nearly back home.

So I take it my 2001 Civic would use the heat-from-coolant system, correct?

yes, all the civics upto 2010 use coolant for the heater. it could be something else, like a temp switch or a stuck air-mix door, thats why i asked if the temp gauge is slow to rise up. but sounds more like thermostat issue.

Cool. Next time I go out, I'll take some notes and let you know exactly what happens. Cheers.

Edit: Well, went out for a drive today and it's about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday—and the heater warmed up much faster this time. It's supposed to get cold again early next week, so I'll wait until then to take notes on how the temp gauge does.