2003 Toyota Echo heat not working

Maintenance/Repairs
,
1

The fan works, but no heat. Tried replacing the fuse. Any hints on what the problem might be?

2

Put your hand on each of the heater hoses. Are they both hot?

If so, the blend door may be stuck. This door in the duct diverts the heat to different outlets.

3

We’re in the middle of a huge snow storm. I have to work on getting the ice and snow off of the hood so that I can open it - I’ll have to do it tomorrow when it’s light again.

4

does your car have a temp gauge or an ‘idiot’ light?

what range is the temp in? normal? or lower than normal?

if it is lower than normal, you most likely have a broken thermostat.

cheap fix, but a little more info is needed to narrow it down.

5

03 echo same dificulty. Tried thermostat, (which was kinda difficult cuz my hands are bigger than a yen year old’s) fan blows, selector seems to make the right noises, no fuse issues. Any ideas oh grray gods of car?? Edit- btw no idiot light or other temp Guage.

6

The heater function is pretty simple in concept. Hot coolant from the engine flows through a little radiator under the dashboard, and a electrical fan blows air through that into the passenger compartment. So you’re looking at

  • not enough hot coolant flowing through the little radiator (heater core) b/c it is plugged up or the coolant isn’t hot enough or there’s an air bubble in the cooling system blocking the flow

  • the fan isn’t blowing b/c something is plugging up the airflow or it isn’t spinning fast enough b/c debris is hitting the fan blades

  • something is blocking the hot air from reaching the passenger compartment, like a vent door isn’t opening.

If you have doubt about the hot coolant reaching the heater core, find that hose from the engine side, it goes through the fire wall. Does it feel hot? You can use an infra-red thermometer gadget to get an estimate how warm it is.

7

Thanks, I’m a little more confidant in the repair now, what might I do
about a clogged radiator?

8

YOu mean a clogged heater core? Sometimes those can be reverse flushed to remove gunk that is stuck inside. Any shop can do that for you. Might be worth a go to do that, and at the same time ask the shop to make sure the cooling system is bled of air bubbles. B/c the heater core is usually the lowest point in the cooling system, it is what gets blocked first by any air bubbles. There’s a huge force involved with an air bubble. Have you ever tried to push a basketball completely under water?