Being in chicago, and it is 34deg outside right now, this problem really concerns me. my max isnt warming up. at all. there is a 20 min drive b/t my college and my house. during this drive, my temp gauge did not even hit the bar next to the cold marking. i drove the car for the first 3-4 min at idle speed..1.5k/2k rpm. after the car showed no temp rise, i proceeded to drive the rest of my 15min journey above 2.5k, mostly around 3k. about ten minutes into the drive the car started giving warm heat. i do not use the term hot b/c the temp of the air coming out the vent was not above 70deg. any ideas why the car isnt warming up? i do have a CEL, coded for EVAP Canister Vent Control Valve. i dont believe this has anything to do with this. one thing that might though: i recently replaced my GXE front bumper w/ a SE bumper. i have not bought the foglights to put in, so i have mesh where the foglights are to be. this is bringing cold air directly into the engine bay. is this my cause? any help would be appreciated.

 

Replace the thermostat

 

i say fix EVAP Canister Vent Control Valve first...

 

That wont do anything for his 'no warm up' problem.

 

It's 99.9189918% likely the thermostat. I've had this problem on two cars including my 97. Generally when they fail their failover is to stay open. That's what happening here: your car is super-cooling. A new thermostat will cost between probably $12-25 depending upon where you get it. It's really a very easy job. You'll need to be able to dump your reservoir, and then have a socket set. You merely dump the coolant, undo the thermostat, put the new one in, fill coolant, reservoir back up, etc. If you've done it before it's under an hour and if not it's still definitely under two.

 

its the thermostat... do it yourself... the dealers typically charge $150 for the job.

 

It's the thermostat. Easy repair.

 

I agree it does sound like a thermostat but to confirm that after running the car a little bit feel the radiator hoses and if one is hot and the other one is cold its the thermostat

 

i'll do that this weekend. thanks for the help guys.

 

but that .0810082% thats its NOT the thermostat still concerns me....

 

The thermostat is bad (stuck open) be thankful it didn't stick closed.