My 04’ civic hybrid does not put out very hot heat from the vents. I noticed when it’s really cold (below ~25°F), I only get 4 bars on the temp gage. When warm outside, it usually operates at 6 bars, and heat is much hotter.

I noticed the stock thermostat temp is 180°, with alternate temp from the aftermarket of 195° is available.

Anyone made the switch to a higher temp stat for winter months? Or is there a special radiator/grill blocker for this model?

Thanks,
Matt

BTW, first post…LOL

 

Regarding the subject of grille block for the vents, see the thread about pipe insulation for the grille:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...n-grill-16922/

I have this simple pipe insulation in the grille, and the temp gauge in cold weather will go up to 5 bars. It's good to pay attention to changes in the outdoor ambient temperature, and I remove some of the pipe insulation on warmer days. If you have a better way to monitor the car's temperature other than the temp gauge on the instrument panel, you can monitor this more accurately so your car doesn't get too hot.

(I think I used 3/4" pipe insulation, the gray stuff. It fits very well in the lower part of the grille for the '04. It seems to be too tight to fit in the upper part near the Honda logo. I think with some cutting it could be made to fit in there as well. Something I have not done yet; I just have it on the lower sections.)

Welcome to the forum.

 

Yes, I stumbled across that one. I'll give that a shot first!

 

I used some of the pipe insulation and blocked ~40% of the lower grille area. Worked great. Temp gage reaches 6 bars and heat is noticeably hotter. Tested when it was 20°F.

 

That's good to hear. It's a relatively inexpensive "fix", but it seems to help.