Trouble With Aygo Heating Taking An Age To Warm Up.

[Acknowledged74]

Hi

My Mums in her 70's now and still working. She will be going to work in the snow tomorrow and she has only just told me yesterday that her heater insn't working properly in her Aygo (08 plate).

Her journey to work is around 12 minutes and she says even with the heating on full its only just starting to get a little warm when she gets to work.

I'm am by no means good with cars, any ideas what are the likely causes, so I can save her the hassle of losing the car to a garage for a few days?

I really appreciate the help.

Regards

Ash

[Red Yaris 54]

At this time of year 12 minutes is not really long enough to warm up a cold engine or the heater.

It is quite probable that there is nothing wrong with her heater

Have you got her to drive the car for a longer time/distance to see if the heater gets a chance to warm up properly?

You could always leave the engine ticking over whilst stationary to see if the radiator cooling fan cuts in and the heater works........But do not leave it unattended whilst it is ticking over, or it could get stolen

Let us know how it goes!

[Acknowledged74]

Hi

She said that she has let it try to warm up for 5 minutes aswell?

I only have a 7 year old Ka but my heating gets very hot even in this weather in about 5 minutes.

Lets suppose there is a problem what is it likely to be guys?

I appreciate the help, as I say she is older and this isn't good for her health.

[Parts-King]

I have a brand new Yaris 1.33 and with the temperatures as they are (around -2 to 0) the engine cold warning light takes 4-5 minutes to go out, but you don't feel any benefit from the heater for at least ten minutes

I suspect there is nothing wrong, it's just cold! Why not sit in it and try it out yourself at the weekend, before you get into having it looked at

If there was a problem with it, the most likely thing would be the thermostat stuck open slightly

Kingo

[AlanTR]

The warm up time your Mum is experiencing is probably about right for this time of year. This morning I left our Aygo (60 plate) idling on the drive for about 5 minutes and then did a 10 minute drive. By the time I reached my destination the air coming out of the vents was warm but not up to full temp. The heater control was on maximum temperature setting.

The engine cooling water circulates the cabin heater so the engine has to get up to somewhere near normal operating temperature before you feel the benefit via the heater air vents. If the weather is cold and the heater is switched to max with a high fan speed, the engine will take longer to heat up because it's losing heat to the cabin heater. It's a bit of vicious circle.

We also have a diesel Hyundai IX20 and this takes even longer to warm up than the Aygo.

The warmest car I ever had was a 2002 MG TF two-seater which used to get absolutely roasting inside. You never needed the heater on max. This dispelled any theories about soft top cars being cold in the winter!!

[Spazmoid]

My 12 plate Aygo Ice takes about 10 minutes to warm up if it's zero / minus outside; and then it's only tepid warmth. On a recent trip to Gatwick from my home near Southampton it took about 25 minutes to have a noticeable change in cabin temp.

[Daddyslaphead]

I reckon it takes a good 20 minutes before my 09 Aygo Blue is up to temperature. Remember that having the heating control on the highest setting will result in it taking longer for the engine to reach the correct operating temperature because your diverting heat into the cabin. Since it's the engine coolant temperature that provides your heating, having the heater set to the highest setting will simply result in cool air for longer!

At this time of the year/ambient air temperature, 12 minutes is nowhere near long enough to get much heat from the heater.

DSH

[MikeSh]

Agree the aboves - my 61 plate is only just starting to give noticeable heat after 10 mins or so. Takes 15+ before it's really getting warmed up.

[Cyker]

My Yaris does that; I can get half-way to work before the cold engine light turns off, never mind hot air! It does stop blowing cold air after a few minutes running tho'.

That's if I drive for efficiency however; If I drive like a mad ricer it heats up pretty quickly :D

You can speed things up by driving a gear lower than you'd normally do, but this does use more fuel and on icy roads wheelspin becomes a bigger risk unless you've got a delicate foot!

[Phil White]

Are you sure this a defect? My 2012 Aygo takes ages to get warm and in these wintry conditions my 15 minute journey to work in traffic stop start means my heater is just getting reasonably warm.

[JB052]

As everyone else has indicated 10+ minutes of running is required to see any heat produced. It may be worth trying different fan speeds, I find that speed two is required to distribute the heat at this time of the year.

[Spazmoid]

As a compliment to the Aygo heating I find that a Zippo heater placed somewhere between the pilot and the seat helps a lot.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005MIM8U0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

[uli]

I agree with DaddySlapHead`s comment.

Turning the heater knob too early into the full red zone is counterproductive.

When you start the engine you should turn the heater to the lowest reddot-zone. Once the engine has heated up(after approx. 5mins) you can turn the heater to the upper reddot-zone and get the required warmth.

Hurrying up this procedure is of no avail.

[Danyl]

Mine takes a little while to warm up, compared to other cars ive had if I touch the bonnet even after a long journey its hardly warm..

anyway,

I find that if you put the heaters on full blast and the toggle right up to highest heat you won't get any warmth cos its blowing too fast into the car,

try putting it warm and on around 2/3 and try putting it on recycle for a little bit but obv make sure they take it off otherwise it will start steaming up etc