No heat in front console

[evolx10]

Originally Posted by tbayhonda

It turned out that there is a screw on top of the post of the valve that holds the lever arm on. it had come loose and the valve did not rotate with the lever. tightening this $1 screw returned heat to the vehicle after a $3000 ordeal. This incident is the first reported in pilots and has been reported to honda canada and america. WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T CHANGE THE HEATER CORE WITHOUT ENSURING THIS VALVE TRAVELS APPROPRIATELY.

Heat went out yesterday morning, been anxious about a big expensive repair, due to the accessibility of the heat core and whatnot. Then I tightened that screw, this is probably one of the most money saving pieces of information i have ever found on the internet.

Thanks Tbayhonda.

[pampers]

I am having trouble finding said screw. Just want to make sure it needs to be accessed from the top (under the hood) and not the bottom. I can't even get to the part behind the engine (hands barely reach).

Just to confirm I have a 2006 Honda Pilot with the same problem described here - no heat (even on full blast, cool air works fine). The broad front of the SUV is making it really difficult for me to reach in and look.

Any tips will be appreciated .. thanks in advance.

Btw, thank you to the people who added the description and photograph. Now if I could only find the damn thing

[carguy07]

Yep, you get to it from the top. It's on a hose coming through the firewall on the passenger side. You might have to move one hose off to the side just a bit to get to it.

[pampers]

Thanks carguy07. I think I see it. The problem is I can't get to it - my hand barely can scrape in through the space between the engine and the firewall. Any special tools needed here ?

Also it does not look like a screw, but more like a bolt. I hope I'm looking at the correct part.

[94eg!]

Isn't it nice to know that dealer mechanics are sooooo good at figuring problems out?



NOT!

[94eg!]

Originally Posted by pampers

Thanks carguy07. I think I see it. The problem is I can't get to it - my hand barely can scrape in through the space between the engine and the firewall. Any special tools needed here ?

Also it does not look like a screw, but more like a bolt. I hope I'm looking at the correct part.

It should look something like this. The little lever sticking up will have a cable looped over it that pushes & pulls it. The screw to tighten in the one in the center of the lever.

[pampers]

Originally Posted by 94eg!

It should look something like this. The little lever sticking up will have a cable looped over it that pushes & pulls it. The screw to tighten in the one in the center of the lever.

Thanks 94eg! .. will hunt for it today.

[94eg!]

Originally Posted by pampers

Thanks 94eg! .. will hunt for it today.

I was just in my engine bay last night checking plugs. This water valve is easily visible on the fire wall even with the plastic covers still on the motor. I'm 6' tall though so it may be more difficult if your shorter.

The OEM valve is all black (not gold like that picture), but it's definitely a phillips head screw on top.

[pampers]

Found it, it was well hidden behind the S-shaped thick cable running above it ! The screw is all rusted, so it was difficult to tighten / loosen it. But it wasn't loose at all, just stuck from all the rust. I loosened it a bit and have started getting luke warm air (actually immediately felt it on my hand after trying to loosen the screw a bit). I tried the cycle to cold and hot method after starting the car, but still am not getting hot air at full blast.

EDIT : After a couple of days, the heat seems to be fine now. I loosened the screw by pouring some Coke over it and that took care of things. Thank you all for your help ! Saved me a trip to the stealership !!

[medman]

I want to thank the posters above who detailed this fix - this was the problem I came searching for and you have provided an excellent solution!

Some additional info regarding this problem - on my 2006 Pilot I found that the plastic valve that the screw goes into is keyed at the top so that the metal lever fits on it and turns the plastic inner valve to adjust coolant flow. The top of the inner valve had cracked and no longer engaged with the lever, even though the screw was tightened. I had to order a new valve. The dealer mechanic informed me that this was a problem on older Acuras, but he had never seen it on a Pilot until today.

I plan to replace this myself - any idea how much new coolant I should have on hand? I recently had the coolant flushed/filled at the dealer, who refilled the system with the good blue coolant. Just wondering how much I will lose when I open the system to replace this valve.

Thanks again for the help!

[94eg!]

Once you pop the hose off, it's all gonna start chugging out. Make sure the old valve is set closed so it only pours out of the open hose. If you've got enough room and your quick enough, you can plug the new valve (also closed) right in as soon as you pop the hose off. Now pop the old valve off the other hose. Again fluid will start chugging out. Quickly plug the new valve in and your good to go.

Just be aware that the hoses can be a total bich to get off the old valve. If you hear the fiberglass braids inside the rubber hose start to rip when your pulling the hose off (sounds like tearing fabric), your gonna need to replace that hose. Once this reinforcement tears , the rubber will be able to balloon under cooling system pressure. Eventually they will burst.


As for how much coolant you need......Well, if it ALL falls out, you will need 2 gallons. If only a bit comes out, then you only need to buy one. You can always put a funnel with a tube below the valve and drain all the coolant into a clean container. Then just pour it back with a clean funnel and a coffee filter when your done. Of course that's a pain in the @$$ (but it works).

[medman]

Thanks. I will pick up a gallon of coolant at the dealer tomorrow when I go in for brake service (thats detailed in another post ). I ordered a genuine Honda replacement valve, which should be in soon. Since I adjusted the inner plastic part, I have more heat but I cannot turn it down.

[mrbill65]

I am a new member and wanted to thank everyone for the answer on no front heat. I replaced this heater control valve and the 2 hoses and 4 clamps for a total cost of $52.23 for parts and about 3 hours of time. I couldn't get the clamps off existing hoses then I couldn't get the new clamps in the right position. It is a tight working space but the job is straight forward and can be done with patience.

Mrbill65

[carguy07]

Originally Posted by mrbill65

I am a new member and wanted to thank everyone for the answer on no front heat. I replaced this heater control valve and the 2 hoses and 4 clamps for a total cost of $52.23 for parts and about 3 hours of time. I couldn't get the clamps off existing hoses then I couldn't get the new clamps in the right position. It is a tight working space but the job is straight forward and can be done with patience.

Mrbill65

Can you confirm the part numbers for the hoses are 79722-S3V-A00 & 79723-S3V-A00 ?

Would it be easier to hook up the hoses to the water valve before installing it so you only have to deal with 2 connections?

Is there any trick to releasing the cable? The manual talks about adjusting the cable, but I'm thinking if you just put the new one right where the old one was that you don't need to deal with this.

Thanks!

[mrbill65]

Hose part numbers are for a 2004 honda pilot. These numbers are from the receipt.
HOSE B 79723-S0X-A00 $3.90
HOSE A 79722-S0X-A00 $3.80

I did hook the hoses to the valve But did not attach the clamp to the valve until the hoses were connected to the tubing that I could adjust the hose if needed. I sprayed cable with WD40 and the used a flat head to gentle pry up the cable once loose it came right off.