Heater Not Blowing Out Of Vents

[cajmani]

Bought 2002 Sedona Ex new in 8/2004. Beginning in 12/2004 when driving long distances (>75 miles) with heat/defrost on, heat stopped coming out of vents. Can hear blower, but no heat out of vents. After letting car sit with engine off for 1 hr, heat began blowing out of vents. Problems happened for past two winters, always on road trips out of state. Have been to dealer 5 times for this problem. Stated it was fixed this last time. Problem has reocurred as soon as weather turned cold. Problem was not fixed, as they were unable to diagnose the real problem. Problem is that as soon as the car sits for a length of time greater than 1 hour or overnight, the heater does blow out of the vents and they state problem is resolved. I have read one post on another site describing same problem. Anyone else out there with this problem/solution? Last time this happened was in the middle of a snowstorm out of state, could not continue trip because of lack of heat and defroster, had to drive with windows open in 20 degree cold to make it to a hotel. Took to dealer in morning, and of course they could not reproduce problem. 45 minutes after leaving dealership, problem returned.
Drove it straight to local dealer after returning home to prove problem existed, problem documented,
stated that is was fixed. Now recurring. Any ideas/ suggestions
Thanks Cecilia

[paikiah]

Hmm, seems like a way common problem here in Korea. Easy fix for us Koreans. Turn blower to full (setting 4). You'll hear a small "thud", like a lid closing. Tada~ You'll have super hot air blown everywhere.

It's a bltch to do so every so often, but hey, at least you don't freeze your butt off.


seems most mid-priced korean car models have this sorta problem.

[2003sedona]

paikiah...YOU ARE MY HERO !

i have had the same problem as Cecilia.....It has been bothering me a long time as i couldnt get any air threw the defrost vents......I dreaded contacting my KIA dealer because they dont care about their customers in the slightest.....The service manager is a waste of time....

anyway to stay positive i thank you very much...........After reading your post I immediattly tryed what you suggested.....Voila ! lots of wind..

Cecilia....have you tried this?

[roadrunnerges]

do you know how to stop heat coming out of the rear lower vents when the rear heater switch is OFF and the air-con and rear fan is ON? My kids love the cool air on their faces but not at the expense of hot feet!

Hey Curly Wurly Girl - love the photo - any chance of seeing any more of the body work?

[DVGuy]

Originally posted by paikiah@Dec 5 2004, 04:22 PM
Hmm, seems like a way common problem here in Korea. Easy fix for us Koreans. Turn blower to full (setting 4). You'll hear a small "thud", like a lid closing. Tada~ You'll have super hot air blown everywhere.

It's a bltch to do so every so often, but hey, at least you don't freeze your butt off.
seems most mid-priced korean car models have this sorta problem.

Quoted post

I have this problem also on a 2003 EX. So, all I need to do is turn the fan all the way up and it should work? Is there a fix for this?

[kiamanager]

Have your dealer check the Heater control head, I have seen a few cause this problem switching to defrost, caused by a poor contact in the head.

Derek

[Inky]

I'm coming into this thread a bit late but I'm having similar problems with my '02 Sedona. I get air (and plenty of it) but only from the dash vents. Regardless of where I set the switch (defrost, floor, combined, etc.), air never blows from anywhere but the dash vents, which makes it very difficult to defog the windshield.

Is this part of the system electronic-controlled (in which case it may just be the switch) or vacuum-controlled (maybe a split hose, etc.)?