2012 Focus heater

[Zeeky]

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.

[Sponsor]

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by Zeeky

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.

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.

[Zeeky]

@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.

[1slofofo]

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.

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by Zeeky

@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.

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.

[Zeeky]

Thanks for the info. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder, so I will monitor the situation closely.

[rickdarris2004]

I have the manual controls on an SE and mine works just fine up here in ND. It was -20F this morning and it heated up quickly. How cold does it get in KY?

[cobie56]

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?

[focusstu]

Originally Posted by Zeeky

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.

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.

[Zeeky]

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.