mweiss
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- November 5, 2002
- Messages
- 166
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- New Milford, CT
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1998 & 2006 Explorers
We have two Explorers, a '98 and an '06 that we got two months ago.
While the '06, in mild weather, starts to produce heat within a couple of minutes of startup, it never really gets hot in very cold weather (below 30ºF).
By contrast, our '98 takes a little longer to start producing heat, but after ten minutes' driving, we have to lower the temperature dial to 12 o'clock position because it becomes oppressively hot inside, even when the outside temp is in the teens.
Our '06 never produces enough heat and we have to leave the dial at max to get barely adequate heat when it's in the teens out. Oddly, the air coming out of the vents feels very hot, but the cab never seems to really get hot.
The other issue is that our feet are always cold in the newer XLT model, as there's no hot air being blown directly toward the footwell, but instead more toward the base of the front seats. The foot area never gets direct heat.
The temperature guage climbs to about 40% scale when the vehicle is fully-warmed up, as does on the '98 model.
I wonder if the reason for this is either a design issue, or if Ford started using lower temp thermostats on the engine cooling systems?
Despite the newer truck being "tighter" and holding the heat better when the engine is off as in sitting at an airport waiting for someone, than our older truck, which starts to get drafty within seconds of shutting off the engine, it doesn't seem to provide adequate heat when the weather is in deep winter, like it is now.
Does anyone have experience with owning two Explorers about ten years apart and the relative performance of the heating systems? I wonder if this is a matter that should have dealer attention, of if this is just a poor design on newer Fords?
While the '06, in mild weather, starts to produce heat within a couple of minutes of startup, it never really gets hot in very cold weather (below 30ºF).
By contrast, our '98 takes a little longer to start producing heat, but after ten minutes' driving, we have to lower the temperature dial to 12 o'clock position because it becomes oppressively hot inside, even when the outside temp is in the teens.
Our '06 never produces enough heat and we have to leave the dial at max to get barely adequate heat when it's in the teens out. Oddly, the air coming out of the vents feels very hot, but the cab never seems to really get hot.
The other issue is that our feet are always cold in the newer XLT model, as there's no hot air being blown directly toward the footwell, but instead more toward the base of the front seats. The foot area never gets direct heat.
The temperature guage climbs to about 40% scale when the vehicle is fully-warmed up, as does on the '98 model.
I wonder if the reason for this is either a design issue, or if Ford started using lower temp thermostats on the engine cooling systems?
Despite the newer truck being "tighter" and holding the heat better when the engine is off as in sitting at an airport waiting for someone, than our older truck, which starts to get drafty within seconds of shutting off the engine, it doesn't seem to provide adequate heat when the weather is in deep winter, like it is now.
Does anyone have experience with owning two Explorers about ten years apart and the relative performance of the heating systems? I wonder if this is a matter that should have dealer attention, of if this is just a poor design on newer Fords?