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2012 Focus heater

6K views 38 replies 13 participants last post by  FordService 
#1 ·
Hey all, looking for some experience to be able to gauge a possible issue.

Maybe it is my imagination, but my 2012 Focus heater seemed to blow only "warm" air today. I remember thinking a few days ago that I had to practically drive in a tshirt to not overheat while in the Focus, but today on the short ride home it never really felt like it was blowing hot. Granted, it is very windy and cold tonight, so it might be something related to that.

Still, given that the car is new to me, I am curious...does the Focus tend to blow really hot air? Mainly just warm? I want to make sure I am not unfairly judging this car based on how hot my last car's heater would get.
 
#2 ·
I've measured vent temperatures with an i.r. thermometer of over 124F when set to 80-max on the dual zone EATC. It can still take a little while to heat up the engine block and coolant to warm up enough, especially if the grille shutters were open.
 
#3 ·
@suss: I have manual climate control if it makes any difference.

When you say "grille shutters open", how would I know if I had them open? You might raise a good point, as I remember that when I turned my car on to come home, the heater was already set to on. If that is what you mean by shutters, then mine were open for about 6 hours in cold windy/snowy conditions before I took the 15 minute car ride home.
 
#5 ·
No, that has nothing to do with the shutter system.

You need to check the lower grille as it is easier to see the grille shutter system, you can't set them to open or close as they are located in front of the engine's radiator and are used for both aerodynamic purposes as well as to warm up the engine by blocking air from flowing through the grille of the car.

If you check on www.etis.ford.com and look under vehicle information you would see with Kysor Radiator Shutter.

A 15 minute trip should have been about enough to get it warm to hot if set to max heat with the shutter system on, but at lower settings it may not heat up soon enough, or if the shutters were open in front of the radiator.



In this picture if you look closely at the lower grille you would notice that you can see the a/c condenser, that means the shutters were open, and given that it was a hot day in May last year that makes good sense.
 
#4 ·
Yeah, I keep my fan at speed 1, and the temp thing right between the light blue and red. If I have it at red, it's only for 5 minutes because it's cold as f--- outside. It gets very warm.
 
#8 ·
I've been satisfied both with the amount of heat and how quickly it comes on , however, recently i had occasion to take a long drive w/ very cold temps (minus 15F/ -26C) and i found that unless the heat was turned up all the way w/ the fan on a fairly hi speed it didn't get very warm in the cabin... comfortable, yes, but not warm enuf for me to think 'turn down the heat'. The drive was aprox an hour long at hwy speeds.
My '01 focus is a reg blast furnace in any temp...even w/ a low (one or two) fan speed
Anyone else experience this in very cold temps?
 
#9 ·
My 2012 Focus S with manual a/c and no grille shutters also has this problem. It is noticeable when the outside temp is over 50 F and irritating when the outside temp is over 60 F. There is another thread with the same problem (hot air when heater on cold). Several owners have had their dealer look at the "blend door" which mixes cool and heated air in the heater. The dealers have said that the doors are operating normally. I will be bringing my car in to the dealer as soon as it gets a little warmer outside.
 
#10 ·
Welp, time for a visit back to where I bought the car. I drove the car for 20 minutes, with the air on full red/4. By the time I got to work, the "heat" wasn't even warm enough to cause the slightest bit of discomfort to my face (which I placed AGAINST the vent). Something is definitely wonky.
 
#11 ·
Wasn't it only 10 degrees there this morning? A week ago it was -4*F in Milwaukee and after 10 minutes/3 miles my needle JUST started leave the C in the dash thermostat. I think this car just doesn't heat up quickly - at least not until I hit highway speeds for a minute or two.

But it does eventually get hot - so maybe there is something wrong with your car.
 
#12 ·
I went ahead and scheduled my car to be looked at for a few issues, but you might raise a good point about the highway.

It has been cold here, and I never get on the highway to get to work...only stop and go traffic for about 7 miles. I specifically remember the focus being much warmer when I was on the highway for a trip the other day, so I will intentionally take it on the highway this weekend and see if that makes any difference.

I am not opposed to giving a car time to warm up, but I am not sure what good it does me if it takes it longer to heat up than I will be in the car. Normally 30 minutes is about as long as I am ever in any car I drive (most of the places I go are really close to me). Maybe my old car spoiled me? Normally within 8 minutes of turning her on she was pushing out fire.

In any case, it can't hurt to have it looked at with the other "agenda" items on Tuesday.
 
#14 ·
I have no clue. I just got the car on the 24th, so I would hope that the level should be good since it came from Carmax. If there is a way to check the level though, I will try to look and see (sorry, I am not really a car guy...for all I know there is just a clear jug somewhere under the hood that is easy enough to check) :p
 
#21 ·
Anddddddd now the heater is back to working again. I haven't had the car looked at, but it got to blazing hot when I took it on the highway. Maybe my daily commute just isn't going to be enough time to get the heat going hot? My brother suggested I "push the engine" in order to create more heat to be drawn in (something like that), so maybe I need to just give a bit more gas when possible in my daily drive?
 
#34 ·
Anddddddd now the heater is back to working again. I haven't had the car looked at, but it got to blazing hot when I took it on the highway...
Welcome to the boards, Zeeky! I’m able to lend a hand by sending this to your regional customer service manager. For that to happen, please send me your full name, phone number, VIN, approximate mileage, and dealer name/state.

...recently i had occasion to take a long drive w/ very cold temps (minus 15F/ -26C) and i found that unless the heat was turned up all the way w/ the fan on a fairly hi speed it didn't get very warm in the cabin...
My 2012 Focus S with manual a/c and no grille shutters also has this problem...I will be bringing my car in to the dealer as soon as it gets a little warmer outside.
cobie56 & focusstu,

I wanted to check in on if your rides are heating up. If not, please send me a PM with the above details.

Cory
 
#35 ·
Welcome to the boards, Zeeky! I’m able to lend a hand by sending this to your regional customer service manager. For that to happen, please send me your full name, phone number, VIN, approximate mileage, and dealer name/state.



cobie56 & focusstu,

I wanted to check in on if your rides are heating up. If not, please send me a PM with the above details.

Cory
cory,, i've no issues at all w/ my heater.. seems to work fine....and the heated seats are super hot.... no issues there...
 
#24 ·
Adding heated seats

You may want to add heated seat pads if the car doesn't have time to get warm on your commute.

Looks like a fairly straight forward installation whether you have cloth or leather seats. I'll likely do this someday. Your butt will be warm in less then a mile of turning them on and it feels awesome!

Here's a thread about how to do it...
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=301629&highlight=adding+heated+seats
 
#26 ·
You may want to add heated seat pads if the car doesn't have time to get warm on your commute.

Looks like a fairly straight forward installation whether you have cloth or leather seats. I'll likely do this someday. Your butt will be warm in less then a mile of turning them on and it feels awesome!

Here's a thread about how to do it...
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=301629&highlight=adding+heated+seats
i agree i have the oem leather heated seats and boy do they roast my butt and back in just a mile or so.... any setting above 3 (once they warm) is too warm for me... i actually find 2 a nice toasty medium..
 
#25 ·
HI, if the CC is set to automatic it blends the air. What should be measured is the ambient temp inside and outside the car relative to what the temperature setting is at.
 
#29 ·
I'm not too worried about having heated seats :p.

The heater seemed to work well again today. I do have a different question though. While checking for any reason why the heat may be odd, I noticed that little black circle/dot that is directly under the center of the windshield/on top of the dash material. What exactly (if anything) does it do? A sensor of some sort?
 
#30 ·
That's the ambient light and solar gain sensor afaik. Its used to tell the auto lamps to turn on when it gets dark enough, as well as for interpreting the sun load when running the climate control. At least that was my understanding if you mean the little black rectangle with a cover over it near the base of the windshield in the middle.
 
#38 ·
SE manual controls, 65 mph on hi-way, outside temp 32 F, fan on 1, heat set to max on, air to dash vents, measured 170 F plenty hot. I am the one that posted heat when turned to cold.
No help from ford to fix so I installed a 4 port heater control valve from
http://www.thermotion.com/topic/18-electronic-coolant-control-valve.aspx
with a dpdt center off switch in glove box (just want it in bypass for summer and open for winter, must be bypass and not cut off)
 
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