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Heater not getting hot airin the cabin

12K views 36 replies 10 participants last post by  Dancingdad  
#1 ·
Hi folks,
My 2001 Clio isn't getting any hot air into the cabin, any ideas?

Is this a major job to be fixed? If so, how much to fix?

Hugh


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#4 ·
Is this a major job to be fixed? If so, how much to fix
Depends where the problem lies. First - I assume you know how a heater works.... hot water from the car cooling system is routed through the heater matrix which heats incoming air through a system of ducts. So the problem lies with one or the other.
Has the heater ever worked? Does the car cooling system work OK (does the temp gauge stay at cold for a few minutes then rise to operating temp quite quickly). Is the coolant level OK? Have you needed to top it up recently? Worse case is a blocked heater matrix. Not too expensive if you can change it yourself but can be a bu99er of a job so labour charges could be high. From your other threads, sounds like time to change the car:|
 
#16 ·
You will need to get a torch, pull the mat out, kneel on the mat, look up from passenger side, towards your heater unit, it is just visible from under the dash,
As you turn the cold to hot adjuster switch/lever, see if you see the flap move.
If no cables that side , do the same drivers side.
Once you have located the cables, move the lever, see what it should attach to or move.
The part it should move, physically move it, see if hot air now enters the car.
 
#19 ·
Found the cable but the clip it attaches too is broken see the picture to see what I mean.
Image


Even when I do move the part it still only like warm in the car, felt the hoses, top one is roughly the same temperature as the inside of the car, do this suggest a blocked header matrix? If it is, am hoping a good flush of the same would help!

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#20 ·
I had this issue with my first Clio Mk2. If I remember correctly both hoses should be hot, and if one is a lot cooler it does suggest a blockage in the heater matrix. In my case, the return pipe was barely warm, I think it was the top one, and was therefore blocked. I was getting no heat into the cabin either.

I ended up attaching a water hose to the pipes and reverse flushing the matrix from the engine bay. You wouldn't believe the amount of rubbish that came out! But after that the heater got incredibly hot and thus fixed the problem. :) Only thing i would say is try not to use too much water pressure, as I don't know how much pressure the matrix can withstand, and the last thing you need is for it to start leaking.