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Low cabin heat? Try this first

A mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the Volvo XC90 made its debut in 2002 at the Detroit Motor Show. Recognized for its safety, practicality, and comfort, the XC90 is a popular vehicle around the world. The XC90 proved to be very popular, and very good for Volvo's sales numbers, since its introduction in model year 2003 (North America). P2 platform.
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Rattnalle
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Re: Low cabin heat? Try this first

Post by Rattnalle »

oragex wrote: 02 Feb 2018, 14:32
Rattnalle wrote: 02 Feb 2018, 12:47
oragex wrote: 02 Feb 2018, 12:24 Wrong coolant from a shady mechanic, or a mixture of wrong coolants. Or indeed water from the hose mixed with coolant (looks like the case in the video, see the deposits at the hose connection at the firewall)
VIDA pretty much says "You can use tap water if it fulfills *detailed criteria*. If unsure, don't." I'd say that means "no" for most people :)
Correct. Sounds like VIDA is expecting owners to take the tap water for analysis :? Unless perhaps living on Beverly Hills (just a wild guess), tap water is always more or less hard and it will leave deposits. Suffice to look inside the bathroom near the sink faucets, for white traces of lime (calcium) deposits. Wouldn't want these near my water pump 8)
Depends very much on where you live. I'd guess our taper water isn't too far from OK since it has very little lime and iron in it and very little added chlorine. The utilities company could probably tell if asked. But that's far from the case everywhere.

And lets not forget that VIDA isn't made for us home mechanics to begin with for some reason :roll:

cn90
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Post by cn90 »

Low cabin heat at 100K, you bet money it is the tstat and heater core.
- I replaced the tstat (there is an easy trick, I posted in forum)...no improvement.
- Replaced the heater core...car is nice and hot, even when it is -20C.

I posted these DIYs in forum.
2004 V70 2.5T 100K+
2005 XC90 2.5T 110K+

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Rattnalle
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Post by Rattnalle »

cn90 wrote: 03 Feb 2018, 14:30 Low cabin heat at 100K, you bet money it is the tstat and heater core.
- I replaced the tstat (there is an easy trick, I posted in forum)...no improvement.
- Replaced the heater core...car is nice and hot, even when it is -20C.

I posted these DIYs in forum.
If the thermostat is bad enough to be the cause of poor cabin heat you'd have noticed it on the temperature meter on the dash. My S80 had a bad thermostat, enough that the meter wouldn't reach the top while driving at reasonable speeds in country roads. Cabin heat was still excellent even in winter temperatures since the coolant would still be 60-70 C or so.

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Post by cn90 »

Rattnalle wrote:...If the thermostat is bad enough to be the cause of poor cabin heat you'd have noticed it on the temperature meter on the dash. My S80 had a bad thermostat, enough that the meter wouldn't reach the top while driving at reasonable speeds in country roads. Cabin heat was still excellent even in winter temperatures since the coolant would still be 60-70 C or so...
- Not true, the dash temp gauge is buffered. By the time you see it in the BLUE or RED it is way out of the middle temperature.
- Engine temp is approx. +90C. If your engine temp is 60-70C, there won't be enough heat in the cabin when it is very cold (such as -10C or -20C).
2004 V70 2.5T 100K+
2005 XC90 2.5T 110K+

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Post by Rattnalle »

cn90 wrote: 03 Feb 2018, 21:38
Rattnalle wrote:...If the thermostat is bad enough to be the cause of poor cabin heat you'd have noticed it on the temperature meter on the dash. My S80 had a bad thermostat, enough that the meter wouldn't reach the top while driving at reasonable speeds in country roads. Cabin heat was still excellent even in winter temperatures since the coolant would still be 60-70 C or so...
- Not true, the dash temp gauge is buffered. By the time you see it in the BLUE or RED it is way out of the middle temperature.
- Engine temp is approx. +90C. If your engine temp is 60-70C, there won't be enough heat in the cabin when it is very cold (such as -10C or -20C).
I'm not saying it won't affect cabin heat eventually. I'm saying you should notice that the temp meter isn't pointing straight up before cabin heat becomes a noticeable issue. But sure, if it suddenly gets much colder you could get both issues at the same time. But the temp meter pointing straight up should be enough to have decent cabin heat even with the buffer taken into account.

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