2011 Ford Taurus Heat Issue

[HOGSONTHEROAD]

I have a 2011 Ford Taurus with 32k miles. I'm having a problem with the heater where when I accellerate I can feel the heat come on strong and when I come to a idle the heat turns to cold. If I drive on the freeway I get contastant heat until I come to a stop at the off ramp then the heat turns noticeably colder.

Just had the car at dealer and the following was reported:
* Coolant Reservoir showing proper coolant level and is Green
* Temp at block was showing that the thermostat was opening
* Temp Gauge in Car remains in middle. No fluctation
* No visible leaks around water pump
* Oil shows no signs of coolant contamination on dipstick
* Upper Radiator hose is hot
* Lower Radiator hose is cold
* Upper Hose at firewall going to Heater Core is warm
* Lower Radiator hose is hose at firwall going into Heater Core is hot.

Was advised by Tech that this is normal behavior and that there wasn't anything he could do. Was told he would contact Ford for any possible solutions.

Figured I would post this issue here to see if anyone else had similiar issue and what they did to fix it.

Any help would be appreciated as my other Ford puts out hot air regardless if I'm sitting idle or on the freeway. Literally no difference

[behlinla]

If the coolant was in good shape and the heater core was not clogged it might possibly be the water pump. Unfortunately the water pump on the 3.5 is like the biggest PIA ever to replace because it's timing chain driven and located in the V of the engine. It will take the dealer several DAYS of labor to change it.

FYI, your car has a special green coolant that is different than the traditional green coolant found in parts stores. If it's a later build it has orange DEXCOOL. If someone added regular silicate coolant (like green Prestone) you might have big problems with gelling creating clogs.

[HOGSONTHEROAD]

I did see the water pump and noticed no belt going to it so that would explain that its timing chain driven. Why Ford would do this kinda setup is beyond me. I had the car at dealer and they checked coolant and didnt say anything about it needing to be orange. We are the second owners. Not sure what the prior owners did.

Would hate to spend a ton of money on water pump only to find out it didnt solve the issue. Not sure what to do. Dealer says that behavior is normal. Maybe i should just accept it.

[Breeves002]

That behavior is not normal. The dealer fed you a load. Heat should stay hot as long as the coolant is hot. It does sound like a water pump to me assuming the core isn't clogged or the system isn't clogged somewhere.

Don't ignore it, it could lead to bigger problems in the future. You should have it drained and flushed with distilled water then refill it with the proper coolant.


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[HOGSONTHEROAD]

All i can do is call dealer to see if they heard back from ford.
If they say its normal i can take it to another dealer but this is a pain in the ass.especially with a vehicle under warranty. I had a truck that the dealer gave me a run around on and was traded in a month later.

I will get tooint that i will never buy american again. Quality is just not there

[Bull Geek]

YOu rarely if ever hear about cooling issues on the NA 3.5L The EB 3.5s I know have maybe a thing or two going on...but not on the 3.5s. The 2010+ have been super solid, well built cars. It's Ford's flagship sedan.

Remember you have a 3 year / 36,000 warranty. You also have a 5 yr/75,000 mile powertrane warranty. Use it. Where are you located and what dealer are you going to?

[HOGSONTHEROAD]

Im in northeastern ohio. Took it to millinax ford.east. i know its still under warranty but if the dealer wont do anything about it im at a lost unless i pay for things getting replaced under warranty.

[Bull Geek]

I've been on the Mullinax Canton lot before, haven't been to that one. Doesn't have many reviews. You may want to see if you can bring the car in to a different dealer in the area. The Mullinax East guys may not be up to the task apparently...

May try a different Ford dealer in town. See if you get better help. You really want to address cooling system issues before the summer. Worst case, lemon law.

[behlinla]

While I agree water pump problems on the 3.5L are relatively rare, they do happen. I think the earlier models (2007-2009) have a slightly higher failure rate though.

Either way, the dealer probably recognizes changing the water pump is a major PIA and they might be trying to duck out of having to do the job. So keep that in mind.

If you want you can run your own tests to confirm. Drive your car for 20+ minutes to get it fully warmed up, then restart it in ETM (hold the reset button while starting the car, keep holding it until the cluster display changes). Keep pressing reset until you get to the coolant temp display. Now just sit there and let the engine idle for 10-20 minutes. As the temp climbs, you might hear the cooling fans kick in. The cooling fans should be able to keep the temp below 105ºC, but if you see it start climbing past 107ºC and the fans are running full blast it's a good indication you have a cooling issue. If you reach 110ºC you need to abort the test and get the car moving up to 40 MPH so you can cool it off!

Continuing with the test, now hold the engine at 2000 RPM in park and watch what happens to the temperature (record if it goes up or down first). If the coolant temp drops more than about 10ºC it's a good indication that the water pump isn't moving enough coolant.

You can exit ETM by shutting the car off or by holding reset again to exit.

Record the numbers and report back with what you find. If you want you can record a video of the test for us or as evidence.

If you do have a water pump problem, you will know for sure come summer!

[The White Falcon]

Originally Posted by HOGSONTHEROAD

I will get tooint that i will never buy american again. Quality is just not there

I don't think it's the fact that its a Ford that it's an issue. It could be a maintenance issue, or the supplier on the water pump had a bad batch. Despite what people tell you, Japanese cars have problems too. How else do you explain why my parents Odyssey had three bad catalytic converters within a year and a half, with less than 100k? Not to mention Toyota's like to take you places you don't necessarily want to go.

Now, it does sound like your dealer stinks. But that's not the cars fault either.