Renault Clio 1995 Heating Problem

centurion555 · Unread post by **centurion555** » 12 Jan 2011, 10:45

I have a Renault Clio 1995 (42kw) in really good condition except for one problem which is driving me crazy. Since October Car heater is not working. The fan works but it throws only cold air inside. I visited two mechanics and both washed the radiator and changed the Water and antifreeze in the radiator. One of the mechanic said that the engine stay cold and that is the reason the car heater doesn't work. I think he might be right because in WINTER during normal drive the meter showing the temperature of the engine never exceeds 1/4 of the reading even after an hour of driving. I heard the needle should be in the middle but it hardly reaches 1 quarter of the full reading. BUT in certain conditions when I am driving in lower gear ( during traffic jam), the needle showing engine heating reaches in the middle of the meter or
even crosses the middle and during that time Car Heater works fine. It starts giving hot air. Another side affect of this problem is car is consuming much more gasoline (Benzin) in winter as compared to summer. For example, during summer, with full tank of Benzin, it makes around 450km in the city and 600km at motorway. But now If I drive only in city, it does around 250km and for driving in city+motorway it makes around 300km. It is too much fuel consumption for a small car and I suppose only winter tyres doesn't reduce car mileage to this extent.
So I suppose either car thermostat is not working properly or there is some other problem. Any idea what could cause the engine to stay cool, stop the heating inside the car and poor car mileage. Thanks in advance, Nadeem

Chris570 · Unread post by **Chris570** » 12 Jan 2011, 14:19

my first bet would be the engine thermostat as suggested

centurion555 · Unread post by **centurion555** » 19 Jan 2011, 08:48

I got thermostat changed and all problems solved. Thanks Chris570 for your reply.