2008 Uplander Heat Problem?
#13
...
Sorry it has taken me so long to post a follow-up in this thread... you know how it goes sometimes.
Yeah, they bled the air from our system five times and the problem kept coming back.
Anyway, the dealership finally found a problem... the head was cracked. It was a hairline crack that was very hard to see that was allowing air into the lines.
No, I'm not even kidding... They had to replace the entire head and head gasket, etc. I'm not what you would consider a "car guy" so you guys probably know a lot more about it that I do... but, from what I understand, it's a pretty big job.
That all happened towards the end of the spring, so we didn't really get to try the heat out that much until this winter.
The bottom line is that the problem has been "fixed" but not as great as I think it should be. Yes, the heat is better while idling; however, the temperature still takes a significant drop and the rear of the van cools off pretty quickly in below-freezing weather.
The most important thing is that the van stays heated enough to be safe, whereas before, it would literally start blowing cold air... so, we're going to live with the fix as it stands, because, to be honest, we're simply tired of dealing with it.
The in-line pump fix sounds promising if we decide to pursue it further at a later date... but, to anyone else out there who has this problem, have your dealership check the head and the head gasket, since that's where the the brunt of the problem was with ours.
Good luck everyone, and Happy New Year...
-Chris
Yeah, they bled the air from our system five times and the problem kept coming back.
Anyway, the dealership finally found a problem... the head was cracked. It was a hairline crack that was very hard to see that was allowing air into the lines.
No, I'm not even kidding... They had to replace the entire head and head gasket, etc. I'm not what you would consider a "car guy" so you guys probably know a lot more about it that I do... but, from what I understand, it's a pretty big job.
That all happened towards the end of the spring, so we didn't really get to try the heat out that much until this winter.
The bottom line is that the problem has been "fixed" but not as great as I think it should be. Yes, the heat is better while idling; however, the temperature still takes a significant drop and the rear of the van cools off pretty quickly in below-freezing weather.
The most important thing is that the van stays heated enough to be safe, whereas before, it would literally start blowing cold air... so, we're going to live with the fix as it stands, because, to be honest, we're simply tired of dealing with it.
The in-line pump fix sounds promising if we decide to pursue it further at a later date... but, to anyone else out there who has this problem, have your dealership check the head and the head gasket, since that's where the the brunt of the problem was with ours.
Good luck everyone, and Happy New Year...
-Chris
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Zack 75 (January 22nd, 2022)
#14
CF Active Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Ontario Canada
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we have a 2009 uplander and we live in Canada. We have not experienced a heating problem with our van. Of course it will take longer to bring your thermostat to normal when idling. There is no load to the engine but as soon as you load the engine on the road. not in your driveway your temperature will climb to normal shortly after. and you will get your heat faster.
#15
uplander heat problem
We took our van to Midas who found that the thermostat was stuck in the open position which did not allow for the system to pressurize and therefore did allow heat to build up in the rear. Apparently, GM thought it would be a good idea to put the thermostat on the bottom of the engine instead of the top, so doing this job myself was not really on my agenda. $320 later, the system could pressurize and both front and back heat worked like a champ! Funny...I called quite a few GM dealerships in the northern US and southern US and amazingly...none of them ever heard of this problem???? Hmmmmmm? One dealership did tell me that several of the GM vehicles have had clogged rear heater cores leading to poor circulation/heat. Check your supply and return lines to see if there is a drastic temperature difference...if there is, there's a good chance the heater core may be clogged. Hope this helps!
#16
My reduce engine power light is on. Went to autozone to get check engine light checked and these codes came up:b0035,b0242,b0131,b0449,b0455,p2070,p2138,p0449 . Could anyone help with this? Thank you>
#17
CF Senior Member
Here are generic diagnostic codes.... OBD-II Check Engine Light Trouble Codes
It would probably be a good idea to start a new thread with your post.
Last edited by Papa Bear; June 15th, 2012 at 3:11 PM.
#18
Oddlot
Who should a person talk to at Grant Auto?
#19
Have the same issues with our 2008 Uplander
I will be doing more research on this as I have been intermittantly having this issue with mine. Today no heat at all! I only got about a gallon of coolant out of the system when I purged it last night and if it is a cracked head that could explain where the other half of the coolent went as it isn't leaking or seeping that I have seen evidence of. This is a 2008 model that has about 78k and we live in North Central Florida. The van came from NE Ohio when we were living there and purchased the van new.
I have some phone calls to make now....
Kate
I have some phone calls to make now....
Kate
#20
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I will be doing more research on this as I have been intermittantly having this issue with mine. Today no heat at all! I only got about a gallon of coolant out of the system when I purged it last night and if it is a cracked head that could explain where the other half of the coolent went as it isn't leaking or seeping that I have seen evidence of. This is a 2008 model that has about 78k and we live in North Central Florida. The van came from NE Ohio when we were living there and purchased the van new.
I have some phone calls to make now....
Kate
I have some phone calls to make now....
Kate
I’m sorry to hear you are experiencing this issue with your vehicle. Has the vehicle been inspected for this issue?
Please keep us posted.
If you need assistance locating a technician near you, please PM me your zip code for a listing.
Louis
GM Customer Service