Mitsubishi Eclipse Climate Control Problems

kasherwood

For the past 3 winter seasons, my heater blows cold air when stopped at a traffic light/stop light. It's a 2001 Eclipse GT. I took it to the dealership 3 time while it was still under warrenty and they said that there was nothing they could do. They said it was the way it was made! Oh well, how ridiculous is that. The problem did not exist the first year or two. The defrost ONLY BLOWS cold air while parked and idling. I can leave it running for 30 minutes with frost on the windshield and it will not even get warm. As soon as I start driving.....boom.....it heats up. Any one have any knowledge of what could be wrong?

leonslincoln

likely air bubble in the sysytem or bad thermostat

broke_dad

I had the same problem when I bought my 2001 Spyder. First be assured it's not a major issue. Park your car slightly uphill and start it with the radiator cap off. Leave the heat on high but the fan on zero. Once it heats up turn on the fan and squeeze the upper radiator hose until you stop seeing bubbles in the radiator. You may also need to thin down the fluid by adding some filtered or distilled water from the store. I do not recommend using straight tap water. The eclipse system is sensitive to just the right mix. You can add it directly to the radiator or the overflow tank and just let it bleed off. I've heard so many who've had this problem and gone through the flushing and thermostat changes just to have it not fixed. Hope this helps.

ebuzan

2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse 3.0 heating & cooling issue causing me to drink!!\r\nA year ago, my girl's car had an issue with blowing cold air from heater in the dead of winter. It escalated this spring into an issue of the cooling systrem overheating by the temp gauge. The thermostat and cap were changed this Spring, but the car continues to have same issue.
Today I spent a rainy afternoon day to run the car with cap off and heater and fan full blast for 2 hours thinking air in the system. (Possible heatercore or water pump leak) I started the car with heater and fan full blast to remove air and added coolant as needed. Car ran for 2 hours once system seemed to be filled and cycled through turning off fan to turning off heater and so on. Also, reving engine every 20 minutes. I noticed some inconsistencies in the coolant resevoir while this was going on. While heater fan off, the fan on the rad would turn on and suck about 1 inch of coolant out of the resevoir. Shutting off heater would cause coolant to rise above "full" level in resevoir.
Finally shut off vehicle and let cool down. After an 11/2 hours, I took vehicle for ride. Shortly after a mile with heater temp on warm, the temp gauge began to rise again!!! I turned on the heater fan to high to diffuse but to no avail. I pulled over and popped hood to see resevoir filled with coolant and began to puke about a pint of fluid. (This has happened before)I again cycled thru high heat w/ fan, no fan and no heater at all. It almost seemed as if thermostat failed to open, but is brand new!!.
I am wondering if ANYONE has an answer to this mystery that causes me to drink!!!

Thanks
Ed B

ebuzan

Dude i don't know what your smokeing, but adding distilled water or filtered water is not going to cure a over heating problem. Maybe your method of bleeding or burping the system might have worked but the water no sorry, who ever told you that was messing with you, the only thing you use distilled water for in a car for is for a old non-maintinance free battery, Sorry to ruin your day, hope no one else wasted their money on distilled water. Been there done that with bleeding the system but the car still randomly over heats and keeps ruining the spring in the radiator cap causing anti-freeze to free flow from the system to the overflow.

cacwesley

I just bought a 2001 eclipse and it blows warm air out of the passenger side and cold air out of the drivers side (go figure) .. did the flushing of the heater coils and flushing of the radiator and added new anti-freeze (this did not help) it actually made it worse! Can anyone help me out here????? I am freezing!!!!!

krowe2

i have the same problem cant figure it out

spyderdude

:confuse: I have the same problem, and my left foot is almost frostbittten. Please post if you have a working solution. Thanks, Merry Christmas :confuse:

rebel2355

I have the same problems!! Have flushed the heater coils twice now and still cold!!

mamiya

same problem with my 08, dealer checked it 2 times now and no difference

tom965

My daughter has a 01 spyder GS. At first the car was fine. Then one day it overheated because the electric fans didn't come on. I changed the controller, refilled the anti freeze and everything worked great....Until the winter came and only the passenger side had heat. Now nether side has any heat. I read all the posts before me and I have to say I have all of the same issues. No heat, Low anti freeze in the rad but the fill tank still has a level. I am a good mechanic with a lot of tools including my own lift. I'm on this one and I'll post what I find and hopefully I'll find the answer to stop this permanently

bam1954

i bought a 2001 dodge stratus coupe and was told by the owner that because mitsibishi made it for dodge thats how it is. talked to a mechanic, he said its the heating element and will cost more than the car is worth for labor to fix it

spyderdude

My mechanic flushed the system 3 times and used a heavy duty cleaning product. He said the first flush cleared out some sort of goopy mess and so he flushed it till it was clear. We now have heat like we should, and it did not involve removing any parts.

apagoddess

I have a 2001 eclipse with similar issues. After replacing lower radiator hose clamp and radiator cap and several flushings, still no heat. My new mechanic found a hairline crack at the top of the radiator. He claims the heater core is plugged and would require 8 hrs labor to replace. He recommended flushing the core several times. After 3 days I finally have heat again but my thermostat went into the red zone this am. Called mechanic and he states probably air pocket in system. Topped off the radiator, Gage goes to 3/4 this time. Fans are running so I have to figure out what the issue is with the Gage. Only time Gage goes up is when I'm idling in traffic, especially in the city. Looking for help!

themegaboy

have u try the heater blend door actuator or the heater control valve

themegaboy

have u try the heater blend door actuator or the heater control valve

h5mind

My 2001 GT 3.0 has many of these same symptoms, and I have ruled out blockage, thermostat, and cap. This leaves the water pump. I suspect the impeller on the pump has deteriorated to where coolant only flows under load at higher speeds, and that only sporadically. There is no loss of coolant or external leaks with this sort of failure, and even good mechanics may assume clogged radiator/core when they witness no flow. This is not as uncommon as it seems, especially with so many replacement parts coming out of China. Unfortunately, the only way to verify is to pull the pump and inspect.