2011 jeep grand cherokee heater blowing cold air

I have the same issue with my 2011 Jeep liberty sport. I will not blow hot air at all. When i turn the dial to hot setting and push the A/C button in, the air only gets colder.
The blower works great. All the vents blow air. It is just cold.

Could it possibly be the Blend door motor or actuator being stuck on the cold side and not switching over to the hot side?
The heat worked fine the morning before.

Do you think i should look into a radiator flush.
I changed out the thermostat and that wasn't the problem. The fluid has some nasty stuff in the antifreeze.

The vehicle has 84k on it.

I'd definitely look into flushing out the heater core. My 08 had the exact same problem as you're describing. It didn't bring it back to what it once was, so I might have to do it again, but it definitely will make the winter bearable here in CT

Did that fix your problem and make the heat turn back on.

Is there a way to check to see if the heater blend door is bad?

Also how much does that usually cost to get the flush done?

It's a stuck thermostat!
Had that happen in my 93YJ
it's a cheap easy fix if you have a heated garage.
If you're in the snow belt, you may wanna consider having it done
HTH

I already changed the thermostat on the vehicle.

That didn't do anything. The thermostat was fine.

Any other suggestions that it could be?

2011Liberty said:

I already changed the thermostat on the vehicle. That didn't do anything. The thermostat was fine. Any other suggestions that it could be?

Meçhanic?

I had the same issue on my 08. I checked the blend door motors and they both worked. I then checked the aluminum heater core pipes inside the dash after the Jeep ran for about 20 minutes to get the fluid hot. One of the pipes was very hot to the touch and the other was barely warm. I had the heater core flushed and that solved the issue. Check the pipes and that should help resolve the issue if its a clogged heater core.

2009 Jeep Liberty Sport: Heater blowing cold air

My heater has worked great on my 2009 Jeep Liberty Sport until I needed it this Fall during an early cold snap. Fan works great but just blowing cold air. Took it to dealer and they claimed the AC/Heater Actuator Plate needed replacing. Paid over $200 for replacement and heater is still just blowing cold air. They, now, say the heater core may be partially blocked. I paid them to flush coolant, but still heater is blowing less than 50% warm air as it originally did. They say, the heater core may need to be replaced, but that requires removing the dash and their service department acts like they do not want to work on it... too busy.

Is there a way to unblock the heater core (if that is the real problem) without removing the dash?

My heater has worked great on my 2009 Jeep Liberty Sport until I needed it this Fall during an early cold snap. Fan works great but just blowing cold air. Took it to dealer and they claimed the AC/Heater Actuator Plate needed replacing. Paid over $200 for replacement and heater is still just blowing cold air. They, now, say the heater core may be partially blocked. I paid them to flush coolant, but still heater is blowing less than 50% warm air as it originally did. They say, the heater core may need to be replaced, but that requires removing the dash and their service department acts like they do not want to work on it... too busy.

Is there a way to unblock the heater core (if that is the real problem) without removing the dash?

Hey BamaAggie,

I am sorry to hear about your recent experience with your Liberty. I could not locate any service bulletins related to your heating concern. Have you had the vehicle diagnosed at a second FCA certified dealership?

My heater has worked great on my 2009 Jeep Liberty Sport until I needed it this Fall during an early cold snap. Fan works great but just blowing cold air. Took it to dealer and they claimed the AC/Heater Actuator Plate needed replacing. Paid over $200 for replacement and heater is still just blowing cold air. They, now, say the heater core may be partially blocked. I paid them to flush coolant, but still heater is blowing less than 50% warm air as it originally did. They say, the heater core may need to be replaced, but that requires removing the dash and their service department acts like they do not want to work on it... too busy.

Is there a way to unblock the heater core (if that is the real problem) without removing the dash?

Sorry man, that's total bull****. Some of these dealer service centers are filled with idiots. I'd file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. (against the service center, not against jeep).

It is very obvious when the heater core is clogged. When this is the case, the inlet hose is HOT and the outlet hose is COLD. After checking the coolant level and thermostat, hose temperature is VERY high up on the list of things to check, it takes 3 seconds and directly confirms whether you need a $1200 repair. If they did not do that the very first time you had issues with the heat, then they are taking you for a ride or are ignorant or lazy. It doesn't matter which one, go somewhere else.

Let JeepCares help you with this. They need to get their house in order as far as service centers go... Jeep corporate is probably just as frustrated as you with the ****ty mechanics. Still though, they need to get this taken care of. 30 years of crappy dealerships is just not acceptable in the face of the changing economic structure where dealers are absolutely NOT a necessary part of the distribution system. (They are literally lobbied and legislated into the law of most states to mandate their existence, because they don't need to exist. i.e. Tesla was not allowed to sell Teslas on the internet without a dealership in the state of Ohio...).

I think what is happening is not that they 'don't want to work on it', the problem is that they don't know how to fix it, and as they keep taking money out of your pocket for repairs that don't work, they know the possibility of small claims lawsuit and/or class action is adding up quickly.

I have the same issue with my 2012 liberty. have flushed the system, nothing came out but clear water. changed the thermostat. checked all three of the door actuators working fine. it got a little warmer but this morning nothing.

Like some others, I had to back flush the heater core with a garden hose for 30+ minutes to get sufficient flow for decent heat. A good rate of clear water was running through the entire time.

In my case, both the inlet and outlet hoses were pretty warm, but I was not getting any warmth in the cabin (just enough to tell that the blend door was working). I'm not sure how good the hose temperature test is for a partially blocked liberty (2009) heater core.

I don't think a basic everyday coolant flush is sufficient to clean out the heater core, you need to address the core directly for an extended length of time before giving up on it.

Heater Blowing hot for 10 seconds then Freezing cold continuously

Hi, I have a Jeep Liberty 2009 (badged as a Cherokee as I'm in the UK). I read with interest about the heater core problems as mine is driving me crazy. When I put the heater blower on, it does blow hot air for 5 to 10 seconds, then it turns icy cold and never warms up. I suspected the heater core after reading this site, so connected a hose to one side and ran clean water for 10 minutes without problem. I connected to the other side and again ran clean water for 10 minutes without a problem. It therefore seems that I don't have a heater core issue. I had a local mechanic check the thermostat without any issues. I took it to Jeep UK who stated that they would still like to replace the heater core and quoted me £1480 british pounds. i clearly want to avoid that, especially as I've flushed it without issues.

The fact that it blows warm for a short while and then freezing cold - could there be some sort of internal thermostat inside the car thats giving the heater system the wrong information ?

I'm really at a loss with this.. thanks.

Sorry guy's but I fear that most of you are in for a large repair bill. I also had similar issues about a year ago with my 2010 Liberty w/defrost and panel working and diminished cooling / heat. I looked at actuators and all functioned as required. The problem was that several gears, (plastic), had stripped and doors would not function as designed. The root cause was the sealant used close off the HVAC united degrades over time and melts down onto the doors and seals them shut, (no recall or service bulletin). I understand that this is a common problem with the liberty and requires complete dish removal ($$$). Also recommended heater core replacement, (another weak point), while dash is out.
robinr01

Here is my trick to the dreaded Liberty heater core problem. I've done this on both a 2008 sport and our current 2011 limited. You will need the proper size CLEAR hose (5/8th) from any hardware store, cheap garden hose spray nozzle with threaded end, adapter from hardware store to screw onto spray nozzle that reduces down to 5/8th (see video below).
Back flush first through heater core until you fill a 5 gallon bucket. Then switch to inlet and flush another 5 gallon buckets worth, then one more time back flush through outlet. Now here is the trick, when reconnecting the heater hoses, reverse them so the original outlet is now the inlet. My heat at the vents before this was around 95 degrees at best, afterwards it was averaging 165 degrees. I had my 2008 running like this for years and never had a problem again. Just did it to the 2011 last month and all good so far.

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I'm going to have to try that again. We had our 2009 heater core replaced two years ago by a dealer, and now we have reduced heat. The doors seem to be working fine, perhaps the blend doors are not sealing as well. We get more heat in recirc mode (AC turned off), engine temp is normal, warms up as fast as usual.

Working on a neighbors 2010 kk with 80 degree heat. Its around 5deg f here. I reversed the hoses on the heater core and now am getting heat around 140f with fan speed at about 50% and all air directed to dash vents. Is 140 acceptable for the kk? Can i permanently leave the heater core hoses reversed?

If you didn't flush out the core before swapping hoses, the gunk floating around the cooling system may eventually cause blockage issues.

Folks have reversed the hoses, either by accident or on purpose, and run them years without issue.

So on our 2009 with weak heat less than two years after heater core replacement, 15 degree difference between inlet and outlet pipe temperature (IR thermometer), gets warmer and colder rotating the temp knob... what do you think? I’ll try a back flush tomorrow, but does the blend door fail in a state where it doesn’t get to full hot position? We get more heat when in recirc position.