Both of my coolant changeouts at 44k and ~71 k were done with Zerex Asian premix bought at O'Reilly Auto parts for ~ $21 gallon. Nearby Advance Auto didn't stock it. I don't think local Autozone carries it either.I don't think I've ever had any issues with getting heat, but I'm going to flush mine out (at 50K miles, 8 years).
I'm wondering if it's safe to buy some kind of coolant from Amazon. I don't have a dealer in my town.
I think while I'm flushing it I might see about draining the heater core directly from the firewall and see what the coolant looks like.
Back from the drive today.. drat.. I think the core remains somewhat blocked. I drove for about an hour on an errand during visit with the owner ran the temp and fan up in the cab and could tell a difference in the heat present from airflow toward the footwells on passenger side much warmer than driver. With the car parked I opened the hood and put my fingers across the upper hose and it was plenty hot to the touch but the lower hose was definitely much cooler, warm not nearly as hot as the upper hose. Oh well, past the grief, will look into getting the core replaced past the summer vacation. The trouble code hasn't reappeared yet but that's probably a matter of time or sample cycles.Brief update, 2 weeks from the service visit to flush, trouble code remains clear...crossing fingers. What little I can see of the fluid looks good. I'll check the heat on drive later today. If it works out will definitely keep it on a schedule to replace coolant.
Per other post above, sure the coolant runs through the heater core all the time, my old Toyota truck has a broken blend door in the hvac and when it decided to open the blend door despite cold setting in summer there's a blast of heat. Unrelated issue for here it has to with a broken electrical control panel and I'm too cheap to fix that part and I just unplug the wiring harness that control the motor moving the blend door open/close when it randomly closes. I'll snap the wire harness back together when I want the blend door to work and let the heat back into the cab in the winter. The knob control doesn't work and it has a mind of its own randomly swinging the blend door open or closed when the wiring is connected.
I think they will only cover repairs until 100,000 miles. I can't find anything about a warranty period through GEICO's MBI program. It's not the same as if it was in an accident and repairs were performed.I wonder if GEICO should honor the heater core warranty. They actually replaced it and two years later it's clogged again?
By the way, how is the heater output?
Belts and tensioner might need replaced but that should be a reasonably priced repair.
Broken shock mounts happen but I believe a new set of Mazda rear structs might include new mounts.
The cost of the heater core replacement is several thousand if the dash has to be completely removed.
On my receipt at 92,500 miles they wrote: "Technician was able to verify customer concern and found the heater core to be restricted. Recommended to replace. Technician replaced heater core per insurance authorization. Cleared codes. Checked repair, road tested, and verified all to be okay at this time." Invoice shows they installed a heater core for $501.22 and 2 things of Mazda Cool(ant) at $54.08 each. Why it is failing again at 122,000+ miles doesn't make any sense.If the heater core was replaced and the cooling system refilled with fresh, approved Mazda coolant it shouldn't need attention now. There was a STB issued concerning the lack of rust preventative additives in the factory fill coolant that caused the clogging of the heater core. The replacement procedure calls for replacing the coolant 2x after the heater core replacement to insure all of the coolant is replaced with the proper mixture.
Has the Mazda service manager shown you these broken strut mounts?
Have you considered taking you car to another shop to confirm any of these suggestions to repair your car? Check this forum for more information about strut mounts and heater core repair/replacement.
Sounds about right. I feel that if there isn't a class action lawsuit filed, they aren't interested in fixing the problems with their cars unless the customer is paying their exorbitant hourly labor charges.Just had the coolant drained/filled at the dealer this morning.
Asked the Service Mgr. about TSB 07-007/17 which is the heater core blockage. He said he never
heard anything about it.
They say that about every problem that pops up.
They have to be the least knowledgeable about the products they sell/service or they're told to disavow all questions about possible problems.
This was in our 16 not our 19.
There are a number of threads on the subject of heater core and FL22 problems and solutions.On my receipt at 92,500 miles they wrote: "Technician was able to verify customer concern and found the heater core to be restricted. Recommended to replace. Technician replaced heater core per insurance authorization. Cleared codes. Checked repair, road tested, and verified all to be okay at this time." Invoice shows they installed a heater core for $501.22 and 2 things of Mazda Cool(ant) at $54.08 each. Why it is failing again at 122,000+ miles doesn't make any sense.
I saw an inspection video which they say shows the broken strut mounts.
I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon at an independent mechanic.
I didn't notice any heater or air conditioning issues until yesterday. It's been in the mid 90's here. Yesterday, the air conditioner was blowing a little bit of hot air. It was set at 60 degrees but the temperature coming out of the vents was not even close to that. I shut it off for a little bit and then tried it again and it was better.