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Poor cabin heater Forester

12K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  mickey76 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a 2015 Forester (non turbo). I live in northern Ontario and drive about 18 km to work. Even by the end of my journey I am still wearing a hat and gloves. The heat output to the cabin is woefully inadequate, particularly to the footwell area where the vents seem very undersized. :frown2: My 2000 Camry delivers heat very quickly to the cabin.

Do others have this problem?

Thanks,
Holdfast
 
#2 ·
No, you are not the only person with this problem.

If you are feeling eager to read, take a look at this thread: http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f77/2014-forester-weak-heater-263009/

Long story short, a lot of people feel that the heat is inadequate. The engine takes a long time to get up to operating temperature and it doesn't put out good heat until you are at operating temp.
 
#4 ·
Two words: block heater.
Actually, two more words: heated seats.

i leave the block heater plugged in while I'm at work, turn the heated seats on after starting the engine, and the car starts blowing warm air in a mile or two. Better, I would say, than our Civic, which I used to drive in the winter.
 
#5 ·
you have to leave the climate control set to hot but no fan until the blue light goes out.
If you leave the fan on high with cold engine it will heat up extremely slowly.
Also you can mod the bottom vent to hit your feet better.. its badly designed.

You can also install a plug in coolant heater.
 
#6 ·
Thanks a lot for the tip! I was facing the same issue in my loaner (2016 Forester 2.5x LTD) and did exactly as you suggested and it worked like a charm this morning (for a car parked outdoors at an average overnight temperature of -1 C).

The steps I followed were as follows:

1) Switch on ignition and set temp between 28-HI and set fan to minimum
2) Switch on heated seat (if available) so you it can keep you warm while you wait for the engine to warm up
3) Once the cold-engine light (blue) goes off, increase fan to required setting.
4) Keep AC switched OFF* (I had it set to on and noticed that it warmed up rapidly the moment I switched it off)

The car had warmed up to a comfortable temperature in about 8mins, over 3km drive with idling at traffic lights.

I'm hoping its faster in my 2.0XT that is on order, and hopefully the process works when the temps dip further to -10 or -20 as we head into winter, in southern Ontario.
 
#12 ·
So far this winter, for the days where it has dipped to -20 (and below), I have found my XT to be severely lacking when it comes to heating up quickly enough for comfort.

Its not too much of an issue when I drive TO work, since I park inside my garage overnight. But on the way back home, since the car sits in an outdoor lot for 13 hours and is subjected to the elements for that duration, it does take a while for it to get comfortable enough. Even with heated seats, the car takes a good 15mins+ to reach a comfortable temperature, which is not appreciated in a car of 2016.

I would contribute the issue to the floor vents whose design leaves a lot to be desired. I haven't made any modifications to the floor vents as some forum members have suggested, since i'm leasing the car and intend to return it at the end of the lease period. Even when the fan speed is set to 3 bars+ and floor-vent mode is selected, there seems to be hardly ANY perceivable warmth from the floor vents. Add to this the fact that in AUTO mode, the climate control system seems to always opt for floor-vent mode as a priority! Whilst this make sense from a thermodynamic perspective, the poor design of the vents and the lack of air flow from them would negate the logic.

I find the quickest way to get warmth is to leave the heater turned OFF (no climate control at all) until the blue light is gone, and then switching on the heater to 30C+ and increasing the blower speed. I use the heated seats to provide the sole source of heat until the cold-engine light is gone. I would have opted for a block heater, but there are no available electric outlets at the parking lot at my workplace, so it would pointless.

Being well dressed for the temperatures of the day is the best way I have found to be comfortable. I do enjoy my car A LOT and see myself getting another XT when my lease term is up, but I do sincerely hope Subaru does some design tinkering going forward, especially for the cold-climate markets.
 
#14 ·
OK my 03 forester will cook you out of the car on even the coldest days .
Here's how I do it. 1 the fan should never be on high select the heat to Max and leave the blower at a low to medium setting. I do this for all cars , a lot of subarus problem is the heater core is too big and is able to actually cool the engine down as you drive. Slow the air down through the core and it will get stupid hot in about 15 minutes of warming up and driving .
 
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