New 2006 Sequoia Heat Not Working Properly

Sounds like a blockage in the system somewhere. And getting "a couple of notches bleow the red mark..." is not a good sign at all.

I would definitely bring it over to the dealer. My temp guage didn't start acting like that until I had about 100,000 miles on the car, and the system needed a good flushing.

I was thinking possibly a stuck or sticking thermostat but the damn thing is brand new.

We have never had any issues with the 2 zone automatic HVAC system in our

2003 Sequoia. The symptoms point to a stuck thermostat but that is unlikely in such a new vehicle. I would let the dealer experience and diagnose the problem.

It is rare on a Toyota for parts to go bad very soon, but the thermostat is a high-failure item! (In general, that is...)

Well its going in as soon as I can get it in. My only other thoughts over a thermostat is semi frozen fluid, air, or some sort of crud form assembly.

well I guess you checked the fluid level but with the temp going up I would guess the thermostat. It could also be a control panel issue but that is not likely.

It was dark outside the last time I looked at the issue so I'll double check the fluid in the morning.

Ok checked this morning in the daylight and the resivour was empty. Filled it up and looked into the radiator and it also looks empty, at least empty from what I'm used to even after running the car to operating tempeture.

Questions.

Shouldn't I see coolent in the radiator? I'm used to warming the car up until the theromstat opens and filling the radiator until you can see coolent at the top. Is this still true with this truck?

BTW: after driving the truck the same levels were in the resivior and the heat worked. Except the rear heat. It still blows cold air. Does the rear heat use the engine coolent to work or does it have its own system?

Sorry forgot to hit the spell check button before the send button. ;-)

I don't know about rear heat, so I won't venture to guess. But, the Overflow bottle should be at the lavels marked on the bottle, and collant should cover the radiator core. I believe this vehicle uses the pink stuff, get it from Toyota. If all they have is the diluted stuff, add it to the radiator cold and then start the car and wait. Add more as needed to fill the radiator. put some in the bottle to cover the bottom of the hose and close the radiator, then watch the bottle. Add until it stabilizes and then fill to the HOT mark and close it.

I would look for hoses running to the rear heater. I had a Ply Grand V'Ger with rear heat, and one of the hoses burst and lost all the coolant from the engine. Luckily, since I watch the temp guage all the time, I stopped the engine when it look abnormal and saved myself a lot of grief!

Ok just to make sure I understand. Not only do I need to fill the reservoir bottle but I should also fill the radiator until I can see fluid at the top over the radiator core when the system is cold.

As to the kind of coolant, I read the manual and it says Ethylene Glycol. Yes the coolant in the car is the red stuff but the only think I can get right now is Peak which is the same Ethylene Glycol but its green. Does that really mater? I've already filled the reservoir with the Peak stuff.

I believe the rear heater is electric and on a fuse. I've found the fuse but it seems to be some special block instead of a normal fuse. Figures. :-/

Seems I may have a leak right around the lower radiator hose. Can't tell for sure but I see some runs of fluid there on the under carriage guard. Regardless at 7K I shouldn't have to deal with such things.

Filled it up and will get it into the service center ASAP.

Set the heater to full hot and fill the radiator until the coolant in the radiator neck covers the hole for the tube that goes to the overflow bottle.

Not such a good idea to mix Peak with the red stuff. The coolant will end up a dirty borwn color, making it difficult to visually check coolant condition, and silicates in the Peak will contaminate the silicate-free red stuff.

If the rear heater is electric, check for power going into the heater element.

Leaks are rare at 7,000 miles. When the service department fixes the leak, hopefully they will flush out the Peak stuff you mixed in and re-fill with Genuine Toyota coolant.

I'll have then flush the system regardless. That was all I could get my hands on, on a Saturday morning.

Drove the truck a few times today and noticed no wet spots under it in the places I parked and oddly enough when I was under it today I didn't see any of the tell tail signs of fluid leaks. I took about a half bottle of anti freeze to fill and I put about a quart in the reservoir. I'll make arrangements to get it to the service department tomorrow.

That will be checked when I get it into service too.

Thanks for all your help.

You're welcome, let us know what the service department finds out.

I certainly will.