The heat in my Town and Country worked fine last winter, but this winter it does not. It takes a long time after starting the car for the heat to get hot, and then it only stays hot for abour 5 min. and gets cold. Every now and then it will get hot again, but only lasts for a couple minutes and then gets cold again. The blower itself works fine and we just filled up the antifreeze. I have three young children..please help!
Thanks, Cindy

 

Had a similar situation. My problem was caused by improper bleeding after coolant refill. Air was entrapped in the system and the coolant wasn't circulating through the heater core.

You said coolant was just added, so perhaps you have the same problem.

Suggest you try bleeding the system and see if that solves the problem. For my Cirrus I simply removed the coolant pressure cap and let the car warm up to normal temperature, run and few minutes. Then let the coolant cool down to ambient temperature and repeat the process. I think I did this heat and cool cycle three times. This allowed any trapped air to vent out of the system and the heater returned to normal.

 

Model year?

A hot engine works more efficiently than a cold engine. That's why a thermostat is used to trap the coolant in the engine until the engine warms to an efficient temperature then opens to allow the hot coolant to flow through the radiator to be cooled. It sounds like your thermostat is stuck open, not allowing the coolant to get hot enough. It's an easy and cheap option.

 

If the thermostat is stuck open, does that mean I need a new thermostat or is there something else I can do to fix it?

 

You'll need a new one. They are autonomous. Nothing controls them but coolant temperature. They cost $10. Just make sure it is the correct t-stat meaning for your make/model/year and engine.

If you would like the procedure send me a private message with your email address and the MODEL YEAR included.