Temperatures are dropping quickly. This week, Cochise county is facing some potential freeze warnings. In Vail and Rita Ranch, we’ll hover close to the freezing mark. It’s time to start waking up to temperatures in the 30s. Is your car ready to thaw you and your windshield out for your morning commute?

If you’ve started to notice cold air blowing through your vents, now is the time to get it checked out before the temperatures continue to fall.

There are several reasons why your car heater isn’t working to warm you up as well as it should. Here are a few of the most common ones we see at Rita Ranch Automotive & Tire.

Is your heater core filled up with hot coolant?

Before we explain how to check for this, let’s go over how the heater works.

Your car’s heating system isn’t complex. That’s because your engine makes enough heat to warm things up quickly. In fact, a cooling system is needed to keep things from overheating, even in the frigid winter months.

Your heater core is a small radiator that transfers heat from your engine into your car’s cabin where it keeps you cozy on the road. It needs hot coolant to work effectively.

To check if you have enough hot coolant in your car, go for a drive on the open road. Get your car to a speed over 40 mph and turn on your heater. If you feel any amount of heat coming through, you have heating coolant.

Is your heater’s fan working?

Heater fans are another common problem in cars. If you’re feeling any amount of heat but you’re still not getting warm, the problem could be with the fan’s speed (or lack thereof).

Check to make sure your fan is on. To be sure it’s running properly, try shifting between the different fan speeds. If it doesn’t seem to blow harder or softer as you adjust the controls, you could have a dead fan speed, which could be causing the heater to work inefficiently.

Once stopped, check your fuses. Is everything snugly connected? If not, tighten them up and try again.

Repairing a heater problem

You don’t have to try to repair your heater’s coolant or fan on your own. These types of repairs are standard for us at Rita Ranch Automotive & Tire. They’re also quite reasonable in price.

Bring your car by before another cold snap comes through. We’ll go through your heater’s system and pinpoint the problem stopping you from getting warmth on your drive.