Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

I find most newer vehicles, including my 08 Outlander, just do not heat up well while idling in cold temperatures. In park, the Outlander idles at 900rpm. In drive, it idles between 500-600rpm. Anything below 1000rpm's in a cold climate just pumps out luke warm(even cold) air at times. Has anyone found a workaround besides throwing your Outtie into neutral and revving up to 1200-1500rpm's while stuck in traffic? Can we increase the idle in our Outtie's for the winter months? I know many people have been complaining about this since the late 90's with all of the attempts at emission reduction. I hate leaving my vehicle idling, but even after half an hour it's still not all that warm unless you drive it and when your drive to and from work isn't all that long, and most of it it stop and go, it's just a tad chilly. And for clarification, yes it does heat up if you can drive around steady for 20 minutes while only stopping a few times. There are no noticeable cooling or heating system issues. It actually makes me want to drive our old 93 Explorer which will make you sweat in under 10 minutes, gotta love old technology.

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

ask them to check the right thermostat been put in, there are different ones depending where you are in the world. ask them to change it so heats the car in colder climates [/b]

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

I've been complaing about this issue for a while. They did the TSB idle update but did not make a difference. I was the first person to complain after the update and just recently asked if there was a new fix There is not, some dealers are putting cardbord in from of the rad to keep it warmer. The dealership has put many reports (they called it something else) into engineering but they said as it stands now Mitsubishi thinks they fixed the problem buy bumping up the idle, and they don't think they will do anythign about it.

I'm in winnipeg and it's been -30°C for the past while. I'm hoping something will change.

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

Can you provide more information on this TSB? I would like to bring it to the attention of my dealer as well.

What does your idle stay at now(in park and in drive) with the fix?

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

Honestly, It may have been bumped up 100rpm or so at temperatures below -15C, but that may just be my mind playing tricks on me. It doesn't seem to have made any difference to the heating ability of the vehicle. I wouldn't waste my time having it implimented.

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

Mine idles at 500 when in park or drive with foot on brake. I do not know what it was before the update.

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

Mine(without update AFAIK, first owner of a 2008 XLS) is the same as mentioned above. This blows(cold).

:D

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

The TSB works somewhat. What I have noticed: If it is -15 C or less, and no ticks on the temp guage (basically starting your car first thing in the morning), then the RPM stays at about 1500 rpm. As soon as you start driving, and get one tick on the temp guage, then its back to the way it was (idling at about 500-600 rpm at stops or redlights will have cooler air than usual).

They should fix the TSB to stay at 1000 - 1500 RPM at all times when the temp is - 15 C or less.

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

"warming up" your vehicle does not mean the heater will pour out hot air. it simply wont do that until the block is super hot. warming up your vehicle means that you are warming the block and fluids inside before you drive it. its to reduce wear on heart of the vehicle. not to turn the inside of the vehicle into a sunny beach. especially here in canada when you dip down below -20.

RE: Increase idle, not enough heat?
 

MY WIFE BOUGHT AN 08 OUTLANDER IN JAN 08.FIRST TIME TEMP DROPPED BELOW -20 WE RETURNED FOR NO HEAT.THEY SAID TOWAIT FOR THE PCM FLASH.PUT UP WITH IT UNTIL SPRING.HAD FLASH DONE OVER SUMMER,BUMPED IDLE BY AROUND 75 RPM.THIS WINTER HAS BEEN BACK AGAIN.VENT TEMP AT ASTOP LIGHT WHEN BELOW -20C IS ONLY87 FARENHEIGHT,ON HIGHWAY IT IS AROUND 145.NO INCREASE AT A STOP UNLESS IDLE IS OVER 1500 RPM,IT WOULD NOT BE PRACTICAL TO IDLETHIS FAST.WE ARE IN WINNIPEG,CONTACTED THE WAVERLY DEALER AND THEY WERE USELESS.CONTACTED VICKAR,THEY WERE MUCH MORE HELPFUL BUT STILL NO FIX.TOOK IT IN AND MITS.ENGINEERING HAD THEM DROP THE COOLANT STRENGTH FROM -48 TO -37 TO TRY TO INCREASE FLOW.THIS DID NOT HELP SO DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.BY THE WAY I HAVE BEEN A DOMESTIC AUTO MECHANIC FOR OVER 25YEARS.BOUGHT THE OUTLANDER BECAUSE I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY,FUEL MILEAGE AND WARRANTY.AT THIS POINT I STROGNLY RECCOMEND ANYONE LOOKING STAY AWAY IF THEY ARE IN A COOLER CLIMATE.THIS IS MY ONLY COMPLAINT AFTER 33000KM,BUT IT IS A MAJOR ONE.NOW WISH I HAD STUCK WITH A DODGE.I HAVE ALSO ON MY OWN CHECKED THE T.STAT,BLOCKED OFF THE FRONT OF THE RAD.WHAT IS NEEDED IS A DIFFERENT WATER PUMP TO INCREASE THE FLOW,BUT SINCE THIS IS DRIVEN BY THE TIMING BELT IT IS AN EXPENSIVE RECALL.VERY DISSAPPOINTED AT THIS TIME.