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Thread: Low Heat Output - New Heater Core Denied

  1. #21
    Senior Member AtomicPunk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foama View Post
    It seems we have come across a potential "time bomb" that will affect most or all of us at some point!

    With that knowledge, what should or can we do?


    To summarize what we know by now:

    1) Mirage coolant may become acidic over time, heater cores become clogged, replacement is labour intensive and expensive.

    2) A very similar problem affects VW. According to the VW TSB the heater core should be replaced when clogged, plus the coolant flushed and renewed.
    VW warns if only the core is replaced, the problem will happen again. That tells me, timely flushing and replacing the coolant will prevent these troubles well before the heater core becomes clogged.

    3) BASF/Glysantin (worlds largest coolant maker) recommended in their mail to flush and change the coolant. They also recommended switching from regular G30 to the specially formulated G64 coolant.

    What I did:

    I flushed and renewed the coolant as BASF recommended, and while I was at it, replaced it with G64 instead of regular G30, which is especially made for preventing these problems.

    In the future, I will observe the PH level of the coolant, and probably will replace it routinely every three years or so.

    How's this going? When I went to BASF site, it only recommends G48 for mitsubishi Colts, and only up to 2007. Is your heat still going strong in all vents?



  2. #22
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AtomicPunk View Post
    Is your heat still going strong in all vents?
    We'll need a good cold snap (single-digit temps) in order for me to get some solid testing data. I have a spreadsheet from last year that I can compare to this year. Where's that polar vortex when you need it?

    Unless it's gotten significantly worse since last year, I have decided to leave it alone. I'd rather deal with sub-standard heat a few days of the year than have the dealer replace my heater core. This looks like a job that has a lot of chances for something to go wrong if it's done in a hurry. My car is squeak and rattle-free at this point. If they drop my dash and all that goes with it, I'm nervous that something will make noise after they are done.

    If I lived in a colder climate, I would be a lot more concerned.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  3. #23
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    That would normally be a plausible explanation. But I bought my car new and I've never added anything to my radiator except a shot-glass full of distilled water. And my car has never been serviced by anyone other than me. I think the same thing goes for others who have the same problem.

    An interesting note to my experience. No one ever asked me if any coolant had ever been added to the radiator...which seems odd. I'm convinced they know the cause, but it makes economic sense to run out the clock on 5/60 warranties instead of acknowledging the problem now. Kind of like the rear axle issue.
    It's been proven time and time again in court car makers can't run out the clock when they knowingly send defective products to market. There is no clock in many cases.

    Ask Ford about their tiny, little insignificant DCT problem.
    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


  4. #24
    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foama View Post
    It seems we have come across a potential "time bomb" that will affect most or all of us at some point!

    With that knowledge, what should or can we do?


    To summarize what we know by now:

    1) Mirage coolant may become acidic over time, heater cores become clogged, replacement is labour intensive and expensive.

    2) A very similar problem affects VW. According to the VW TSB the heater core should be replaced when clogged, plus the coolant flushed and renewed.
    VW warns if only the core is replaced, the problem will happen again. That tells me, timely flushing and replacing the coolant will prevent these troubles well before the heater core becomes clogged.

    3) BASF/Glysantin (worlds largest coolant maker) recommended in their mail to flush and change the coolant. They also recommended switching from regular G30 to the specially formulated G64 coolant.

    What I did:

    I flushed and renewed the coolant as BASF recommended, and while I was at it, replaced it with G64 instead of regular G30, which is especially made for preventing these problems.

    In the future, I will observe the PH level of the coolant, and probably will replace it routinely every three years or so.
    You really think the majority of our Mirages will experience this? I love this forum and all the wise men on here, but Jesus, the more I read, the less Im convinced these cars are reliable as Ive been preaching on Youtube lol!

  5. #25
    Senior Member AtomicPunk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler View Post
    You really think the majority of our Mirages will experience this? I love this forum and all the wise men on here, but Jesus, the more I read, the less Im convinced these cars are reliable as Ive been preaching on Youtube lol!

    Fummins has been wrenching on a fleet of them for several years now, and I can't remember him saying he's come across this yet. Fingers crossed it isn't as wide spread as we fear.

  6. #26
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler View Post
    You really think the majority of our Mirages will experience this?
    If you own a 2014-2015 and live in a location that has really cold winters, there's a chance this could become a problem. Since you live in the southern US, I doubt this will ever be a problem for you.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  7. The Following User Says Thank You to Top_Fuel For This Useful Post:

    Dirk Diggler (12-18-2019)

  8. #27
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    Thanks - i will check mine out.

  9. #28
    Senior Member AtomicPunk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    If you own a 2014-2015 and live in a location that has really cold winters, there's a chance this could become a problem. Since you live in the southern US, I doubt this will ever be a problem for you.


    We need Eggman to combine these into one master "heater core issue" thread. We have some bright minds on here that have solved other issues with the Mirage. I'm confident a solution can be found for those outside warranty...

  10. #29
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AtomicPunk View Post
    We need Eggman to combine these onto one master "heater core issue" thread. We have some bright minds on here that have solved other issues with the Mirage. I'm confident a solution can be found for those outside warranty...
    I agree, and I've been thinking about combining. But if you look at the HVAC heat... thread, it is approaching 350 posts. And that's a lot to sort through.

    Top_Fuel has a good approach in making a new thread with the relevant info. I don't think we are there yet because we haven't yet found a 'solution' to this problem - one that doesn't require dismantling the dash & replacing the heater core (something I think we all want to avoid.)

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


  11. #30
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    I agree, and I've been thinking about combining. But if you look at the HVAC heat... thread, it is approaching 350 posts. And that's a lot to sort through.

    Top_Fuel has a good approach in making a new thread with the relevant info. I don't think we are there yet because we haven't yet found a 'solution' to this problem - one that doesn't require dismantling the dash & replacing the heater core (something I think we all want to avoid.)
    As I mentioned in the other thread maybe Prestone or some other cleaner with a recirculating heated pump will be the answer. Right now, IDK.


    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


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