My car will not heat up until I step on the gas—no point in using my car starter—the car will only throw cold air until I drive it about a block. Yet the temp.gauge says it’s in the warm zone.
What is the outside temperature? What make and model and year? Is the temperature gauge warming up slowly?
Personally I am not a fan of those remote starters. The best way to warm up a car IMO is to start it up and drive very conservatively (no high RPM or freeway) until it warms up. That gets not only the engine, but all the other parts warm.
My guess is you have an older car with a fair amount of miles that may have a worn water pump.
You may have air in the cooling system. An air pocket in the heater core would prevent you from getting heat while the engine idles. Then when you drive the car the water pump forces hot coolant through the core and you get heat.
Check the coolant level in the radiator (cold) and make sure it’s full. Checking the overflow bottle isn’t enough. There may be a bleed valve on the engine to allow air to escape.
Check the hoses going to and from the heater core. They should both be hot when the engine has warmed up.
Another possibility is a blend door not moving to the “hot” position until you drive. This would only be the case if the door is vacuum operated, and I don’t know whether your Altima has a vacuum system or an electric system.