I was in an accident in December and just got my car back on Friday. I tried using the heat and it’s blowing out cold air, with little spurts of slightly warm air. The coolant was low, so I added some hoping that would fix the problem, but it’s still blowing out cold air! The coolant is still a little low, but I don’t want to do anything else to the care. Any ideas what it could be and could it be accident related? I had no problems before the accident and I really don’t want to be without my car for another month. Thanks!
what was wrong with the car? what got damaged? (in case there is a connection)
when you turn on the heat does the air blow out of all the right holes? defrost, floor, face?
it sounds to me that your car was low on coolant. (you remedied that) BUT, sometimes the heater can get air bound, and need bleeding. more details.
just where did you fill up the coolant? the radiator or the coolant reservoir?
are you seeing any coolant under the car when you move it? keep looking at the coolant and refill if necessary.
If the coolant was low air can get into the system. If it ends up in the heater core then you can’t get good heat out. The air needs to be purged. Not only can the heater be make less effective, but the engine cooling can also be compromised. If you are unsure how to proceed, I suggest a repair manual, local (not chain) radiator shop or an independent mechanic.
Did you add coolant to the overflow tank or the radiator? These are not the same and almost all vehicles have both. It may require several times to get the air out. A coolant leak will not fix itself and you will damage your engine if this no heat situation persists.